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EDITED  BY  HENRY  SUZZALLO 

PROFESSOR   OF  THE   PHILOSOPHY   OF   EDUCATION 
TEACHERS   COLLEGE,  COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 
SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

BY 
JOHN  HAYNES,  Ph.D. 

HYDE  PARK  HIGH  SCHOOL,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

BOSTON,   NEW  YORK  AND  CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT,  I914,  BY  JOHN  HAYMKS 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Zbt  Uttiersaie  SreM 

CAMBRIDGB  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U  .  S  .  A 


Ejiucation 
Jjbrary 

H 
H33e. 


PREFACE 


This  little  book  has  grown  out  of  the  author's 
interest  in  economics,  his  conviction  that  igno- 
rance of  its  elementary  principles  is  at  the  bot- 
tom of  much  of  the  faulty  legislation  and  adminis- 
tration in  our  country,  and  finally,  out  of  his  own 
experience  in  teaching  the  subject  to  secondary- 
school  pupils.  To  test  his  own  beliefs  on  the  mat- 
ter he  has  read  widely  on  the  subject  and  made 
extensive  inquiries,  with  the  result  that  his  own 
convictions,  based  on  experience,  have  been  con- 
firmed. In  191 2  he  sent  out  a  questionnaire  to 
secondary-school  teachers  of  economics  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  and  received  seventy-five 
replies,  which  furnished  him  with  a  large  amount 
of  information  which  has  been  of  use  in  the  prep- 
aration of  this  study.  The  author  desires  to  take 
this  opportunity  to  thank  his  correspondents, 
among  whom  are  many  of  the  leading  teachers 
of  economics  in  the  secondary  schools,  for  the 
invaluable  help  they  have  given  him  in  the  in- 
vestigation of  his  topic.  The  questionnaire  was 
as  follows:  — 

iii 


i  5>n^OQ« 


PREFACE 

1.  Name  and  location  of  school. 

2.  Name  of  the  teacher  of  economics. 

3.  Teacher's  general  education;  graduate  of  what 
college  or  normal  school? 

4.  Teacher's  special  training  in  economics.  (A  full 
answer  specifying  each  course  taken  and  the 
time  devoted  to  it  will  be  appreciated.)  Has 
the  preparation  for  teaching  economics  been  equal 
to  that  enjoyed  by  the  teacher  in  other  subjects 
taught  by  him  or  her? 

5.  What  is  the  line  of  the  teacher's  chief  interest? 
What  other  subjects  does  he  or  she  teach? 

6.  What  textbook  is  used? 

7.  In  what  year  is  economics  taught  and  what  is  its 
time  allotment? 

8.  In  what  courses  is  it  (a)  required,  (6)  optional, 
(c)  not  permitted? 

9.  What  work  in  the  school  leads  up  to  or  prepares 
for  economics? 

10.  How  is  it  correlated  with  other  subjects? 

11.  When  was  economics  introduced  into  the  school? 

12.  Number  of  pupils  in  this  year's  graduating  class 
and  the  number  who  have  studied  economics. 

13.  How  does  the  teacher  feel  that  the  results  ob- 
tained in  the  teaching  of  economics  compare,  in 
proportion  to  the  time  given  to  the  subject,  with 
the  results  obtained  by  him  or  her  in  other  sub- 
jects (a)  as  to  quaUty  of  classroom  work  and  (b) 
as  to  application  to  the  pupil's  life  out  of  school? 

14.  Arguments  for  or  against  having  economics  as 
a  secondary-school  subject. 

iv 


PREFACE 

15.  What  methods  are  used  in  teaching  economics? 
(A  full  answer  is  desired.  Please  state  what  use 
is  made  of  notebooks,  of  other  authorities  than 
the  textbook,  of  newspapers  or  magazines,  of 
visits  to  industrial  establishments,  or  any  other 
means  of  making  the  work  effective.) 

In  1899,  Professor  Frederick  R.  Clow,  of  the 
Oshkosh,  Wisconsin,  Normal  School,  published, 
in  the  Economic  Studies  of  the  American  Eco- 
nomic Association,  a  very  valuable  monograph  on 
"Economics  as  a  School  Study,"  which  traversed 
very  much  of  the  same  ground  covered  by  this 
essay.  The  present  monograph  is,  however,  an 
independent  piece  of  work.  On  every  point  cov- 
ered in  the  essay  the  author  has  sought  all  avail- 
able material,  much  of  which  was  not  in  existence 
when  Professor  Clow  wrote,  and  has  reached  a 
conclusion  which  is  entirely  his  own.  In  some 
cases  his  conclusions  differ  from  those  of  the  mono- 
graph in  question.  Only  in  a  few  minor  ways  is 
the  present  work  different  from  what  it  would 
have  been  had  Professor  Clow's  essay  never 
been  published. 

It  is  the  hope  of  the  writer  that  this  study 
will  have  some  influence  in  hastening  the  spread 
of  the  study  of  economics,  which  is  in  any  event 
sure  to  come.  At  the  same  time  he  hopes  that  it 

V 


PREFACE 

will  be  of  assistance  to  teachers  of  economics  in 
the  secondary  schools,  especially  to  the  inexpe- 
rienced and  those  with  but  a  limited  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  to  whom  the  great  privilege  of 
teaching  it  may  come. 

John  Haynes. 
Boston,  June  19, 1914.  , 


CONTENTS 

Editor's  Introduction ix 

I.  The  Need  of  Economic  Knowledge     .    .  i 

n.  The  Suitability  of  Economics  as  a  Second- 
ary School  Subject       ii 

III.  The  Present  Status  of  Economics  in  the 

Secondary  School 20 

IV.  The  Place  of  Economics  in  the  Curriculum 

and  its  Relation  to  Other  Subjects    .  si 

V.  Methods  of  Teaching  Economics     ...  47 

VI.  The  Content  OF  THE  Course  IN  Economics  .  72 

VII.  Bibliographies 86 

OXTTLINE 91 


EDITOR'S    INTRODUCTION 

The  American  citizen  needs  information  on  eco- 
nomic subjects.  Every  day,  as  a  maker  of  public 
opinion,  he  is  called  upon  to  lend  the  weight  of 
his  personal  judgment  to  one  or  another  side  of  a 
controversy  which  at  bottom  rests  on  economic 
fact  and  law.  Less  often,  but  with  more  deci- 
sive influence,  he  is  asked  to  go  to  the  polls  and 
solve  problems  of  political  and  social  welfare  which 
involve  some  interference  with  the  means  of  pro- 
ducing, exchanging,  and  distributing  wealth. 

In  the  face  of  such  a  persistent  need  for  eco- 
nomic intelligence,  men  and  women  must  be  edu- 
cated into  familiarity  with  the  fundamental  laws 
and  essential  facts  of  economic  science.  The  col- 
leges have  trained  a  few  people,  for  the  study  of 
economic  problems  is  a  well-established  univer- 
sity study.  But  we  cannot  be  content  with  this 
slight  diffusion  of  knowledge.  Discerning  leaders 
in  political  economy  are  less  than  half  efficient 
when  the  majority  of  men  are  imdiscerning.  The 
level  of  constructive  leadership  is  largely  estab- 
lished by  the  levels  of  popular  understanding, 
ix 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

The  elements  of  economics  must  be  taught  in 
some  form  in  both  high  and  elementary  schools. 
It  is  useless  to  urge  that  economics  is  a  univer- 
sity subject  and  not  a  high-school  study.  Such  a 
statement  is  not  an  argument  against  the  teaching 
of  economics  in  the  lower  schools;  it  is  merely  an 
expression  of  the  present  educational  status  of  the 
science.  It  is  this  status  which  we  must  change. 
The  fact  is  that  all  men  imply  or  assume  eco- 
nomic knowledge  when  they  participate  in  present- 
day  affairs.  What  they  get  is  usually  obtained  in 
a  haphazard  way,  —  from  newspapers,  maga- 
zines, and  conversation.  It  would  be  ridiculous 
to  assume  that  the  schools  can  do  no  better  by 
the  average  man  than  these  incidental  agencies 
of  economic  teaching.  The  high  school  cannot 
do  as  well  as  the  college,  and  the  elementary 
school  cannot  hope  to  approximate  the  service 
of  the  high  school;  but  each  can  do  more  for  its 
clientage  than  it  now  does.  It  is  all  a  matter  of 
making  schoolmasters  feel  with  sufficient  force 
the  urgency  of  the  task;  when  this  is  accomplished, 
well -trained  teachers,  the  proper  selection  of 
topics,  and  effective  modes  of  teaching  will  follow 
in  due  course.  If  doing  something  to  give  men  eco- 
nomic intelligence  is  felt  to  be  worth  while,  we 
shall  get  whatever  experimentation  is  necessary 

X 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

to  indicate  the  causes  of  failure  and  to  suggest 
the  ways  and  means  that  will  bring  success. 

In  the  course  of  any  such  enthusiastic  experi- 
mentation it  will  soon  be  made  clear  to  us  that 
high-school  students  are  not  interested  in  the 
same  range  of  problems,  the  same  minute  details, 
or  the  same  wide  generalizations  as  are  univer- 
sity students.  They  require  a  different  selection 
of  topics.  The  interests  of  high-school  students 
are  determined  by  the  psychological  facts  of 
adolescence  and  the  special  contacts  with  the  out- 
side world  usual  to  youth.  Problems  belonging 
more  or  less  exclusively  to  business  and  finance 
will  therefore  not  appeal  to  them  at  first. 

The  high-school  students  will  be  interested  in 
problems  of  social  welfare.  They  will  be  eager  to 
understand  the  issues  of  current  political  debate. 
In  so  far  as  these  call  for  a  knowledge  of  economic 
fact  and  law  they  are  strategic  opportunities  for 
economic  teaching,  and  can  be  made  the  points 
of  entrance  into  investigations  of  economic  fact. 
Thus  topics  for  economic  study  in  the  high  school 
are  more  likely  to  represent  units  of  human  in- 
terest than  abstract  economic  concepts.  The 
more  abstruse  economic  notions,  relations,  and 
generalizations  will  come  to  them  indirectly, 
as  certain  concrete  and  tangible  economic  facts 
xi 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

are  directly  pursued.  Even  the  latter  will  be  more 
effectively  acquired  and  organized  for  the  lay- 
man's uses  if  they  are  acquired  as  the  means  to 
interesting  practical  ends. 

Making  knowledge  practical  merely  involves 
making  knowledge  personal.  The  best  way  to 
head  the  high-school  youth  toward  the  economic 
interpretation  of  social  and  pohtical  life  is  to  be- 
gin with  the  economic  interpretation  of  his  own 
life,  just  where  the  instructor  finds  it.  Whatever 
aspects  of  his  own  experience  afford  illustrations 
for  economic  fact  should  be  utilized  from  the 
start.  But  his  life  is  lived  with  more  than  his 
own  young  kind.  Group  life  with  his  fellows 
may  be  central  to  him;  but  his  life  has  expand- 
ing margins  which  more  and  more  touch  the 
institutional  life  of  adults.  What  his  own  so- 
cial class  or  immediate  neighborhood  is  discuss- 
ing will  be  of  some  concern  to  him.  What  is 
mentioned  in  daily  newspaper  and  weekly  maga- 
zine will  widen  the  teacher's  chance  to  vitalize 
economic  teaching.  Thus  the  teaching  of  eco- 
nomics in  the  high  school  will  aim  more  at  con- 
trolling the  child's  belief  with  fact  than  at  making 
him  memorize  a  text  of  abstractions. 

It  is  obvious  that  before  economics  can  be 
transmuted  into  a  high-school  subject,  we  must 
xii 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

have  better-trained  teachers,  specially  devised 
texts,  and  a  method  of  approach  which  wiU  make 
the  high-school  student  feel  that  he  is  studying 
realities.  How  these  and  other  less  important 
pedagogical  ends  are  to  be  attained  more  fully 
is  told  in  the  volume  here  presented. 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 
SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

I 

THE  NEED  OF  ECONOMIC  KNOWLEDGE 

What  the  science  of  economics  is 

Economics  is  among  the  most  important  of  sub- 
jects. Its  nature  is,  however,  often  misunder- 
stood even  among  educators.  It  is  the  science 
which  deals  with  the  social  system  of  wealth,  or,  in 
other  words,  it  is  the  science  which  explains  those 
social  phenomena  which  are  due  to  the  wealth- 
getting  and  wealth-using  activities  of  man.  The 
economist  has  to  do  with  valuable  things  or  goods 
in  their  relation  to  the  individual  and  to  society 
as  a  whole.  He  inquires  into  human  wants  and 
the  means  of  satisfying  these  wants  so  far  as  this 
can  be  done  by  concrete  goods  or  the  hired  serv- 
ices of  one's  fellows.  He  answers  the  questions 
how  society  produces  goods,  how  these  goods  are 
divided  among  the  different  classes  of  producers, 
and  how  the  use  of  the  goods  reacts  upon  individ- 

X 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

uals  and  the  social  organism.  He  looks  at  every- 
thing from  the  social  viewpoint  and  discovers 
what  is  for  the  general  welfare  on  the  material 
side.  He  makes  a  scientific  explanation  of  the 
phenomena  of  the  industrial  world.  As  hmnan 
beings  put  forth  the  greatest  part  of  their  activi- 
ties in  industrial  pursuits,  — ^^that  is,  in  getting  a 
living,  —  it  is  evident  that  economics  deals  with 
one  of  the  major  aspects  of  human  life.  How  im- 
portant it  is  that  the  elementary  principles  which 
govern  economic  activities  in  modem  society 
be  understood  will  appear  as  our  discussion  ad- 
vances. 

The  value  of  economics  for  intelligent  citizenship 
in  the  twentieth  century 

James  Bryce  has  shown,  in  the  American 
Commonwealth,  that  the  dominating  force  in  the 
American  government  is  public  opinion.  Practi- 
cally all  the  great  questions  which  public  opinion 
is  called  upon  to  settle  fall  within  the  domain  of 
economics  or  political  science.  It  is  therefore  es- 
sential, in  order  that  one  should  be  a  good  citi- 
zen, that  he  should  be  intelligent  upon  these 
questions.  This,  of  course,  is  not  the  only  thing 
which  is  necessary  to  good  citizenship,  but  it 
would  take  us  too  far  afield  to  discuss  all  its  ele- 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

merits.  The  point  here  is  simply  that  intelligence 
—  not  merely  "general  intelligence,"  but  specific 
intelligence  on  public  questions  —  is  an  essen- 
tial. 

There  is  special  need  of  such  intelligence  in  our 
country  in  the  years  which  are  directly  before  us. 
Up  to  the  present  time,  even  in  our  country,  the 
government  has  been  in  the  hands,  to  a  large 
extent,  of  a  ruling  class.  We  are  now,  however, 
in  the  midst  of  a  great  movement  toward  mak- 
ing our  institutions  extremely  democratic.  For 
good  or  ill,  the  initiative  and  referendum  are 
destined  to  play  a  great  part  in  the  decision  of 
our  most  perplexing  questions.  Whether  any  na- 
tional form  of  direct  legislation  will  be  evolved  we 
cannot  now  tell,  but  while  our  Federal  Constitu- 
tion remains  essentially  as  it  now  is,  the  States 
will  continue  to  deal  in  their  legislation  with  by 
far  the  more  mmierous,  if  not  the  more  impor- 
tant, questions.  On  these  questions  the  voter  will 
have  to  declare  himself  affirmatively  or  negatively 
with  great  frequency.  In  this  country  public  ques- 
tions are  not  left  to  savants  to  settle.  In  the  State 
of  Missouri,  for  instance,  there  was  submitted 
to  the  voters  in  191 2  a  constitutional  amendment 
with  reference  to  taxation,  the  intelligent  deci- 
sion of  which  involved  an  understanding  of  eco- 

3 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

nomic  rent  and  something  of  the  incidence  of  taxa- 
tion. In  speaking  of  the  educational  value  of 
civics  (simplified  political  science),  Ruediger  well 
says,  "The  primary  value  of  civics  is  the  socially 
practical  value.  Intelligent  citizenship  depends 
upon  it  quite  as  much  as  upon  history.  When 
rightly  taught,  it  should  lead  to  intelligent  voting 
and  the  upright  discharge  of  all  social-poUtical 
duties."  What  is  true  of  civics  is  true  in  greater 
degree  of  economics.  In  the  first  place,  the 
principles  of  economics  are  far  less  well  known 
among  the  intelligent  public  than  the  main  facts 
about  our  government,  and  are  far  more  difl&cult 
to  pick  up  from  miscellaneous  reading.  Says 
Professor  Macvane,  "  The  motions  of  the  earth 
and  its  true  relations  to  the  heavenly  bodies  are 
not  more  effectually  disguised  to  the  careless  ob- 
server than  are  the  real  facts  of  economic  life." 
Economic  fallacies  and  misconceptions  are  com- 
mon in  the  minds  of  otherwise  intelligent  people. 
For  example,  the  opinion  that  foreign  nations  can- 
not honestly  be  in  favor  of  any  trade  with  us  that 
is  not  to  our  disadvantage  is  tacitly  held  by  mul- 
titudes and  makes  its  appearance  even  in  the 
speeches  of  alleged  statesmen  and  in  oflB.cial  docu- 
ments. Much  false  knowledge  is  constantly  dis- 
seminated by  political  orators  and  the  press. 
4 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

People  think  themselves  competent  to  reason 
about  economic  problems,  however  complex,  with- 
out any  preparatory  training.  The  general  tend- 
ency of  popular  economics  is  toward  rash  gener- 
alizations. The  fallacy  of  post  hoc  ergo  propter 
hoc  is  the  typical  popular  formula  of  argument. 
Again,  the  burning  questions  of  our  day  are 
economic.  We  have  practically  reached  the  end 
of  our  supply  of  free  land,  which  has  hitherto 
furnished  an  outlet  for  those  who  wished  to  better 
their  condition.  We  have  come  upon  an  era  of 
rising  cost  of  living.  Discontent  is  rife  among  the 
more  poorly  paid  workers.  There  is,  therefore, 
great  danger  that  in  our  discontent  we  shall  fly 
in  the  face  of  economic  law  and  do  great  damage 
to  the  social  organism.  Economics  is  at  once  an 
antidote  to  the  resistance  by  interested  classes  to 
beneficent  reforms  and  to  the  ideas  of  visionaries 
who  are  always  making  chimerical  proposals. 
We  are  confronted  with  questions  relating  to 
the  tariff,  the  cost  of  living,  the  trusts,  various 
proposals  for  changing  national  and  state  taxa- 
tion, transportation,  banking,  currency,  conser- 
vation, the  merchant  marine,  child  labor,  occupa- 
tional diseases,  the  minimum  wage,  the  eight-hour 
day,  immigration,  and  a  multitude  of  other  and 
subsidiary  economic  problems.    In  the  words 

5 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

of  Dr.  Burch,  "Just  as  the  world  has  passed 
through  its  struggles  for  intellectual,  religious, 
and  political  freedom,  so  it  is  now  on  the  threshold 
of  the  great  struggle  for  economic  freedom  and 
social  justice."  This  is  well  illustrated  by  the  plat- 
forms of  the  great  parties  adopted  in  191 2.  All 
of  the  economic  questions  enumerated  above,  and 
others,  are  discussed  in  one  or  more  of  these  plat- 
forms and  the  majority  are  discussed  in  all  of 
them.  If  we  omit  the  parts  which  appeal  to  the 
record  of  the  parties,  or  denounce  other  parties, 
we  shall  find  that  more  than  half  of  what  is  left 
of  the  Democratic  and  Republican  platforms 
deals  with  questions  of  a  distinctly  economic 
nature,  while  the  platform  of  the  new  Progressive 
party  devotes  more  than  two  thirds  of  its  space 
to  the  same  sort  of  problems.  The  legislative 
mills  of  1913  ground  out  a  grist  of  laws  that  have 
an  economic  side  which  is  without  parallel.  The 
purpose  of  this  legislation  is  almost  without  ex- 
ception good,  but  there  has  been  voiced  an  em- 
phatic protest  against  the  unwisdom  of  much  of  it 
by  some  of  the  nation's  wisest  leaders  in  reform, 
who  can  by  no  means  be  classed  as  conservatives. 
Economics,  then,  even  more  than  civics,  is  needed 
by  every  voter  or  prospective  voter  as  a  part  of 
his  equipment.  No  person  without  a  considerable 
6 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

knowledge  of  economic  principles  and  some  train- 
ing in  economic  reasoning  can  form  an  opinion 
of  any  value  on  many  of  the  subjects  which  are 
at  issue  to-day.  We  are  safe  in  saying  that  a  good 
knowledge  of  economics  is  among  the  best  assets 
one  can  have  who  wishes  to  use  his  vote  for  the 
pubhc  good.  Besides  helping  the  voter  to  form 
an  opinion  on  questions  at  issue,  it  will  be  a  great 
help  to  him  in  recognizing  intelligent  leadership 
and  will  incline  him  to  follow  such  leadership. 
Men  of  affairs  with  a  secondary-school  training 
in  economics  will  be  more  likely  than  others  to 
give  ear  to  the  expert  in  the  subject. 

The  ethical  value  of  economics 

Besides  its  contribution  to  the  intelligence  of 
the  citizen,  economics  has  a  decided  value  for  his 
ethical  training.  It  inculcates  self-help,  it  teaches 
economy  in  expenditure,  a  lesson  sorely  needed 
by  the  average  American.  The  value  of  industry 
and  trustworthiness  receives  emphasis  through 
economic  study.  Like  other  social  sciences,  it 
constantly  inquires  what  is  for  the  good  of  all. 
It  shows  that  the  interests  of  humanity  are  one. 
It  takes  a  social  point  of  view,  and  one  who  has 
become  habituated  to  taking  this  view  has  made 
a  great  step  toward  understanding  what  right 

7 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

conduct  is  in  any  given  case.  It  naturally  leads 
to  public  spirit,  putting  the  good  of  the  whole 
before  purely  selfish  ends,  and  this  is  the  essence 
of  the  purest  patriotism.  It  teaches  every  man 
to  estimate  his  labors  by  the  tendency  to  promote 
the  general  good.  Then  a  great  many  of  the  ques- 
tions of  right  and  wrong  which  confront  us  daily 
have  an  economic  side.  It  gives  a  proper  esti- 
mate of  the  place  of  wealth  and  the  right  use  of  it. 
The  individual  is  taught  the  effects  which  his  own 
private  acts  have  upon  society.  No  one  can  be 
truly  moral  who  does  not  consider  the  social  re- 
sults of  his  deeds.  Many  an  act  in  which  people 
take  pride  appears  in  its  true  deleterious  charac- 
ter in  the  hght  of  economic  science.  For  example, 
economics  teaches  men  and  women  that  extrava- 
gant expenditure  cannot  be  excused  on  the  plea 
that  it  gives  employment  to  labor.  It  develops 
breadth  of  thought,  it  cultivates  the  power  to 
judge  fairly  of  many  questions  in  everyday  life. 
In  the  study  of  economics,  many  supposed  facts 
will  be  foimd  to  be  erroneous.  In  the  future  the 
student  will  be  more  careful.  This  tends  to  en- 
courage the  love  of  truth.  An  insight  into  in- 
dustrial conditions  broadens  the  sympathy  for 
all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  It  is  certainly 
conducive  to  a  love  of  justice  and  leads  the  stu- 
8 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

dent  to  see  something  outside  the  economic  class 
to  which  he  belongs. 

The  vocational  value  of  economics 

There  are  also  vocational  values  of  economics. 
The  business  man  learns  in  economics  many  facts 
which  are  of  direct  value  in  his  vocation.  As  will 
appear  later,  it  is  in  commercial  schools  and 
courses  that  economics  is  most  frequently  a  re- 
quired subject.  The  journalist,  even  if  he  is  only 
a  reporter,  finds  it  a  constant  help  in  his  work. 
The  need  of  such  knowledge  is  painfully  evident 
to  an  economist  as  he  reads  the  newspapers.  The 
clergyman  needs  economics  for  the  light  it  throws 
upon  many  questions  commonly  discussed  in  the 
pulpit.  The  lawyer  should  have  it  for  its  bearing 
upon  many  of  the  economic-legal  questions  which 
are  often  arising.  A  greater  knowledge  of  eco- 
nomics on  the  part  of  judges  would  have  been  of 
great  value  to  the  country  in  the  last  few  years. 
All  those  who  are  called  upon  to  administer  pub- 
lic ofl&ces  are  in  constant  need  of  the  guidance 
of  economics.  Those  who  devote  themselves  to 
charitable  work  need  its  light  on  their  problems. 
The  legislator,  like  the  voter,  but  to  a  larger  ex- 
tent, should  be  equipped  with  the  power  of  eco- 
nomic reasoning.  The  capitaUst  needs  it  to  guide 

9 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE  SCHOOL 

him  in  his  broad  policies.  The  laborer  needs  it  to 
give  him  the  right  conception  of  his  relation  to 
production,  and  laborers,  as  organized  into  unions, 
need  it  constantly  as  a  guide  in  deciding  the  pol- 
icy of  the  organizations.  The  larger  part  of  the 
failures  of  labor  organizations  can  be  traced  to 
ignorance  of  economic  laws.  The  contribution 
of  economics  to  vocational  education  is,  then,  a 
large  one. 

The  cultural  value  of  economics 

Just  a  word  may  be  said  about  the  cultural 
value  of  economics,  or  its  value  as  enlarging  the 
capacity  for  the  enjoyment  of  life.  Much  of  the 
satisfaction  of  life  comes  from  "an  understanding 
of  all  the  elements  of  one's  environment  that  rest 
upon  law  and  system."  To  understand  our  trade 
relations  or  our  monetary  system  is  as  truly  a 
part  of  cultural  education  as  to  understand  chem- 
istry or  Latin.  "  Such  knowledge  puts  one  in  touch 
and  harmony  with  large  and  influential  elements 
of  modern  life.  To  be  ignorant  of  them  compels 
one  to  just  that  extent  to  live  as  a  stranger  in  a 
strange  land." 


II 


THE  SUITABILITY  OF  ECONOMICS  AS  A 
SECONDARY  SCHOOL  SUBJECT 

The  secondary  school  furnishes  the  last  chance  to 
teach  the  subject  to  any  considerable  number  of 
young  people 

Since,  then,  the  knowledge  of  economics  is  of 
such  great  importance  that  the  topics  of  which 
it  treats  are  "fundamental  for  intelligent  and 
responsible  citizenship,"  to  say  nothing  of  its 
other  values,  it  ought  to  have  an  honored  place 
in  the  program  of  every  secondary  school  sup- 
ported by  the  public  funds  unless  it  can  be  shown 
that  it  is  unsuitable  for  pupils  in  this  grade.  It 
is  the  secondary  school  which  furnishes  the  last 
chance  for  systematic  education  in  any  subject. 
It  holds  the  strategic  position  and  gives  all  the 
preparation  which  many  persons  have  who  after- 
ward come  to  important  places  of  leadership  in 
their  own  communities  and  often  in  much  wider 
fields. 

The  opinions  of  educational  authorities 

The  turning-point  of  the  whole  question  is 
the  claim  made  by  some,  though  a  decided  minor- 
II 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

ity  of  those  who  have  really  studied  the  question, 
that  the  subject  is  beyond  the  grasp  of  secondary- 
school  pupils.  This  is  not  the  opinion,  however, 
of  many  of  the  leading  educational  experts.  Pro- 
fessor Hanus  says,  "We  justly  expect  a  modem 
school  to  do  its  share  in  awakening  interest  in 
and  insight  into  our  institutional  life.  .  ,  .  Accord- 
ingly, we  think  that  history,  civics  and  econom- 
ics, the  social  studies,  should  receive  much  fuller 
recognition  in  secondary -school  programs  of 
study  than  has  been  accorded  to  them  hitherto." 
Nicholas  Murray  Butler  says,  "In  society  as  it 
exists  to-day,  the  dominant  note  nmning  through- 
out our  struggles  and  problems  is  economic.  .  .  . 
Yet  it  is  a  constant  struggle  to  get  any  proper 
teaching  from  the  economic  and  social  point  of 
view  put  before  high-school  and  college  students. 
They  are  considered  too  young  and  immature 
to  study  such  recondite  subjects,  though  the  nice 
distinctions  between  the  Greek  modes  and  tenses 
and  the  principles  of  conic  sections  with  their 
appeal  to  the  highly  trained  intellectual  imagina- 
tion are  their  daily  food."  In  a  recent  article 
in  the  School  Review,  Commissioner  Snedden 
of  Massachusetts  has  advocated  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  two  years'  course  "constituted  of  suit- 
able units  from  civics,  economics,  ethics,  and  other 

12 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

constituents  of  social  science  enriched  with  vital 
and  pertinent  contributions  from  history."  This 
indicates  that  he  does  not  consider  economics, 
properly  treated,  beyond  the  power  of  high-school 
pupils.  The  famous  Committee  of  Ten,  though 
they  did  not  advocate  economics  as  a  separate 
study,  distinctly  said  that  its  fundamental  prin- 
ciples were  not  beyond  the  grasp  of  the  sec- 
ondary-school pupil.  The  Committee  of  Five 
of  the  Department  of  Business  Education  of 
the  National  Educational  Association  in  its  model 
program  included  economics.  Such  leading  col- 
lege professors  of  economics  as  Daggett,  of  the 
University  of  California,  LaughUn,  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago,  Clark,  of  Columbia,  Taussig  and 
Bullock,  of  Harvard,  Patten,  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  Ely  and  Commons,  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  have  written  articles 
in  which  the  teaching  of  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  economics  below  the  college  grade  was 
advocated. 

The  practice  of  leading  schools 

Economics  is  taught  in  such  schools  as  the 

New  York  High  School  of  Commerce,  the  Boston 

High  School  of  Commerce,  and  the  Central  High 

School  of  Philadelphia.    Among  other  cities  in 

13 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

which  there  are  high  schools  having  courses  in 
economics  are  Buffalo,  Chicago,  Dallas,  Denver, 
Louisville,  Los  Angeles,  Newark,  New  Orleans, 
Seattle,  and  Washington.  Courses  which  are  es- 
sentially courses  in  economics  are  foimd  in  such 
European  schools  of  secondary  grade  as  the  Com- 
mercial Academy  of  Vienna,  the  Commercial 
Academy  of  Prague,  the  School  of  Higher  Com- 
mercial Studies  at  Paris,  and  the  Public  Conuner- 
cial  Institute  at  Leipzig. 

The  evidence  of  those  who  are  teaching  the  subject 

The  testimony  of  experience  supports  the  au- 
thorities who  have  been  quoted.  One  of  the  ques- 
tions in  the  questionnaire  given  in  the  preface  was, 
"How  does  the  teacher  feel  that  the  results  ob- 
tained in  the  teaching  of  economics  compare,  in 
proportion  to  the  time  given  to  the  subject,  with 
the  results  obtained  by  him  or  her  in  other  sub- 
jects (a)  as  to  quality  of  classroom  work  and  {h) 
as  to  the  application  to  the  pupil's  life  out  of 
school?" 

Among  the  teachers  replying  were  those  who 
also  taught  history,  civics,  ancient  and  tnodern 
languages,  mathematics,  science,  and  commer- 
cial subjects.  There  were  sixty-three  direct  re- 
plies to  the  first  part  of  the  question;  of  these 
14 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

eighteen  reported  better  results,  thirty-seven  re- 
sults equally  good,  and  only  eight  poorer  results. 
To  the  second  part  there  were  fifty-five  answers, 
twenty -four  reporting  better  results,  twenty- 
seven  equally  good  results,  and  four  poorer  re- 
sults. Even  if  we  count  all  failures  to  give  a  direct 
answer  as  equivalent  to  saying  that  the  results 
were  poorer,  it  still  remains  true  that,  in  their 
own  opinion,  about  two  thirds  of  the  teachers 
were  getting  results  from  economics,  in  both  re- 
spects equal  or  superior  to  the  results  in  other 
subjects. 

This  is  a  very  remarkable  showing  when  we 
consider  that  only  twenty  of  those  replying  con- 
sidered their  preliminary  preparation  for  teaching 
economics  equal  to  their  preparation  for  teach- 
ing their  other  subjects.  The  replies  as  a  whole 
showed  surprising  enthusiasm  for  the  subject 
and  belief  in  its  value.  Several  teachers  referred 
to  the  testimony  of  their  pupils  to  its  value.  One 
boy  said,  ''I  can  understand  and  enjoy  the 
heavier  articles  in  magazines  that  I  never  would 
have  read  if  I  had  not  taken  economics."  An- 
other teacher  wrote,  "Some  boys  say,  'It  is  the 
best  subject  I  have  ever  taken  except  Commercial 
Law.' "  When  we  consider  that  a  course  in  eco- 
nomics is  usually  given  only  half  as  much  time  as 

15 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

a  course  in  plane  geometry,  and  often  taught  by 
a  teacher  with  little  or  no  special  training,  the 
answers  are  very  encouraging. 

The  evidence  of  examination  results 

The  reports  of  the  New  York  state  examina- 
tions for  191 2  confirm  our  other  evidence.  In 
economics  27.3  per  cent  of  the  examinations 
were  rated  below  60  per  cent.  Of  all  the  papers 
written  by  secondary-school  pupils,  28.9  per  cent 
were  below  the  grade  of  60  per  cent.  Some  in- 
dividual subjects  showed  the  following  percent- 
ages of  failures:  American  history  and  civics, 
25.6;  ancient  history  (three  periods),  30.4; 
elementary  botany,  30.3;  civics,  30.4;  commercial 
law,  22.4;  elementary  drawing,  24;  all  English 
subjects,  19.5;  English  grammar,  38.1;  commer- 
cial English  and  correspondence,  68;  French, 
28.6;  German,  30.1;  history  of  commerce,  60.6; 
shorthand  (2),  37.1;  Latin,  36.1;  physics,  25.7; 
plane  geometry,  27.3;  all  mathematics,  34.9. 
The  content  of  the  course  in  economics  on  which 
the  New  York  Regents'  examinations  are  based 
is  large  for  the  time  allotment  and  the  examina- 
tions are  thorough  and  exacting.  Similar  sta- 
tistics from  New  Hampshire  and  North  Dakota 
are  of  the  same  purport. 
16 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

Economics  as  a  college  entrance  subject 

The  fact  that  economics  is  widely  accepted  as 
a  college  entrance  subject  is  an  evidence  that  it 
is  considered  by  many  higher  institutions  a  proper 
study  for  the  secondary  school.  The  iuvestiga- 
tions  of  Clarence  D.  Kingsley  into  the  question  of 
college  requirements  show  that  in  191 2,  out  of  two 
hundred  and  three  colleges  reported,  fifty-seven 
allowed  economics  to  count  one  or  more  units 
for  admission  to  the  A.B.  course  and  thirty-five 
allowed  it  to  count  one  half  a  unit.  Of  eighty- 
five  engineering  schools,  fifty  accepted. the  sub- 
ject for  entrance;  of  thirty-one  agricultural  col- 
leges, twenty-four.  Among  the  institutions  which 
allow  economics  to  count  one  or  more  units  for 
admission  to  the  A.B.  course  are  Leland  Stan- 
ford Jr.  University,  the  University  of  Chicago, 
the  University  of  Michigan,  Syracuse  University, 
and  the  University  of  Vermont.  The  study  has 
been  recently  added  to  the  options  which  may  be 
offered  at  several  institutions. 

The  failure  to  permit  economics  as  an  entrance 
subject  does  not,  however,  indicate  that  the  col- 
lege authorities  disapprove  of  economics  for  those 
who  are  not  to  enter  college.  The  recent  omission 
of  economics  from  the  options   permitted   in 

17 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

the  old  method  of  admission  to  Harvard  was 
prompted  by  the  opinion  that  it  is  better  for  a 
pupil  who  is  to  pursue  economic  courses  in  col- 
lege to  take  his  elementary  course  in  college  also. 
The  professor  who  brought  about  the  change  is 
on  record  as  approving  the  study  of  economics  in 
the  secondary  school. 

What  our  evidence  proves 

From  all  the  evidence  we  may  be  entirely  satis- 
fied that  whenever  the  importance  of  economics 
receives  recognition  and  there  is  as  much  insist- 
ence on  having  an  adequate  time  allotment  and 
qualified  teachers  as  in  mathematics,  language,  or 
science,  the  objection  that  the  secondary-school 
pupils  cannot  master  its  fundamental  principles 
will  vanish.  Of  course  a  few  weeks  with  the  sub- 
ject will  not  make  an  accomplished  economist, 
but  it  will  come  as  near  to  it  as  the  same  number 
of  weeks  will  to  making  an  accomplished  physi- 
cist or  mathematician. 

Why  not  sociology  instead  of  economics  in  the 
secondary  schools  7 

The  question  might  be  asked,  "Why  not  have 
sociology  instead  of  economics  in  the  secondary 
school?"    It  has  been  advocated  by  some,  and 
i8 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

there  are  a  few  secondary  schools  in  which  courses 
are  given  with  such  texts  as  Dealey  and  Ellwood. 
Admitting  that  secondary-school  pupils  are  ca- 
pable of  doing  profitable  work  in  sociology,  it  is 
still  true  that  economics  has  far  more  to  give 
which  bears  directly  upon  the  questions  which 
public  opinion  is  called  upon  to  decide  than  does 
sociology.  It  also  contains  much  more  which 
has  direct  connection  with  the  probable  future 
vocations  of  the  pupils.  A  cursory  comparison 
of  the  tables  of  contents  of  an  elementary  book 
on  sociology  and  a  similar  book  on  economics 
would  be  sufficient  to  show  this.  Moreover, 
sociology  is  still  in  a  formative  stage.  The  study 
of  sociology  should  follow  and  not  precede  the 
much  more  definite  subject  of  economics.  There 
may  ultimately  be  f oimd  in  the  secondary  school 
a  place  for  some  of  the  principles  of  sociology,  but, 
if  so,  they  should  come  in  addition  to  and  not  in 
place  of  economics. 


Ill 

THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  ECONOMICS  IN 
THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

The  extent  to  which  it  is  now  taught 

There  is  not  suf&cient  evidence  to  enable  one  to 
give  a  definite  statement  as  to  what  extent  eco- 
nomics is  now  taught  in  the  secondary  schools  of 
the  United  States.  In  191 2  the  writer  had  access 
to  the  records  of  two  publishing  houses  which 
covered  all  subjects  taught  in  about  eighteen  him- 
dred  secondary  schools.  These  records  were  made 
for  business  purposes  and  were  entirely  free  from 
bias.  There  were,  of  course,  many  small  schools 
and  some  good-sized  ones  which  were  not  listed. 
About  one  fifth  of  the  schools  reporting  had 
courses  in  economics.  As  to  the  proportion  of  the 
pupils  who  take  economics  in  the  schools  where 
it  is  offered,  information  is  also  regrettably  in- 
complete. The  writer  has  statistics  from  sixty- 
three  schools  which  in  191 2  graduated  about 
fifty-three  himdred  pupils  in  all  courses,  of  whom 
thirty-six  per  cent  had  taken  economics.  Pro- 
fessor Stewart  Daggett,  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
20 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE  SCHOOL 

fomia,  in  191 2  sent  out  letters  to  the  large  high 
schools  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-three  such  schools,  fifty -six 
taught  the  subject  of  economics.  These  figures 
appear  much  more  favorable  than  those  before 
cited,  but  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  his  letters 
went  to  the  larger  schools  only. 

The  study  of  economics  in  the  secondary  schools  is 
increasing 

In  1893  about  one  twentieth  of  the  schools 
replying  to  the  circular  of  the  Committee  of  Ten 
reported  courses  in  economics.  The  evidence 
already  given  shows  a  large  increase  since  then. 
At  present  economics  is  usually  found  in  commer- 
cial schools  and  in  the  commercial  courses  of 
large  high  schools,  where  it  is  often  a  required 
study.  Of  the  fifty-four  schools  reporting  the 
date  of  the  introduction  of  the  subject  in  answer 
to  the  writer's  questionnaire,  twenty-four  had  in- 
troduced it  within  five  years,  and  thirty-six  within 
ten  years.  The  state  superintendents  of  Iowa, 
New  Hampshire,  and  Ohio  report  a  decided  in- 
crease of  late.  From  1894  to  1910  the  number  of 
schools  in  Minnesota  giving  economics  increased 
from  twelve  to  forty-six.  In  New  York  there  has 
been  a  decrease  due  to  the  increased  severity  of 
21 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

the  examinations,  which  are  now  rather  hard, 
considering  the  time  allotment.  Formerly  they 
were  very  easy.  Wisconsin  also  reports  some  fall- 
ing-off ,  though  forty-seven  per  cent  of  the  schools 
reported  still  teach  the  subject.  Professor  Dag- 
gett reports  that  answers  to  his  inquiries  indi- 
cate that  "not  only  is  the  teaching  of  economics 
common,  but  there  is  a  marked  belief  that  the 
demand  for  it  will  increase.  .  .  .  The  conviction 
that  the  demand  will  increase  is  not  confined  to 
the  schools  which  are  giving  economics."  The 
facts  that  economics  is  generally  considered  a 
proper  study  for  the  commercial  course,  and  that 
this  course  is  meeting  with  increasing  favor  in  the 
entire  country,  point  unmistakably  to  a  large  in- 
crease in  the  munbers  of  pupils  taking  the  study. 
As  its  suitability  to  the  secondary-school  pupil 
is  demonstrated  by  its  success  in  the  commercial 
course,  its  introduction  into  other  courses  will 
become  easy.  It  is  nevertheless  true  that  on  the 
whole  the  increase  in  the  teaching  of  economics 
has  been  slower  than  it  ought  to  have  been.  There 
are  several  reasons  for  this,  one  of  which,  the  be- 
lief that  the  subject  is  beyond  the  ability  of  the 
secondary -school  pupil,  has  been  discussed  at 
length  in  chapter  n.  We  shall  now  examine  some 
of  the  other  reasons. 

22 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

The  belief  that  proper  teachers  cannot  he  had 

It  has  been  argued  that  we  should  not  have  the 
subject  in  secondary  schools  because  proper 
teachers  cannot  be  had.  It  is  true  that  the  ideal 
teacher  of  the  subject  is  a  person  of  rare  qualifica- 
tions. He  should  be  a  person  with  a  good  special 
preparation  and  of  a  judicial  mind.  Few  schools 
have  enough  economics  to  take  all  the  time  of  one 
teacher.  However,  economics  is  very  largely 
studied  in  colleges.  During  the  year  1909-10,  no 
less  than  fifteen  thousand  students  were  begin- 
ning the  subject  in  higher  institutions.  If  edu- 
cational authorities  would  insist  that  every  new 
teacher  of  history,  or  at  least  every  head  of  a  his- 
tory department,  should  possess  an  adequate 
training  in  economics  as  well  as  history  and  civics, 
the  difl&culty  would  pass  away.  In  Iowa,  which  is 
the  banner  State  in  the  teaching  of  economics, 
the  subject  is  by  law  required  for  the  first-grade 
certificate.  The  writer  would  not  wait  for  an  ade- 
quate supply  of  competent  teachers,  but  would  let 
the  demand  create  the  supply  as  has  been  done 
in  practically  all  of  the  newer  subjects.  He  would, 
however,  insist  on  having  the  subject  taught  by 
a  person  interested  in  it,  in  order  that  it  may 
not  be  discredited.  Teachers  should  be  encour- 
23 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

aged  to  study  the  subject  in  university  extension 
courses,  in  summer  schools,  or,  where  these  op- 
portimities  are  not  open,  by  correspondence. 
The  returns  quoted  above  show  that  many  teach- 
ers with  comparatively  small  preparation  feel 
that  they  are  doing  profitable  work. 

The  objection  that  economics  deals  with 
controverted  questions 

Another  objection  is  that  economics  deals 
with  matters  which  are  controverted  questions 
and  economists  themselves  differ  on  many  points. 
In  the  first  place  there  is  a  sufficient  body  of 
accepted  doctrine  for  an  elementary  course. 
Many  of  the  propositions  of  economics  are  as 
well  established  as  any  in  geometry.  When  ques- 
tions which  are  political  issues  come  up,  they  may 
be  freed  from  the  false  popular  arguments  which 
are  common  and  the  real  grounds  for  belief  in 
each  side  presented.  The  teacher  should  maintain 
a  position  of  absolute  fairness  on  controverted 
questions.  He  should  establish  by  example  the 
habit  of  open-minded  consideration  of  disputed 
questions.  He  should  also  make  it  plain  that  other 
than  economic  considerations  may  properly 
enter  into  the  decision  of  many  practical  ques- 
tions. Economics  does  not  furnish  a  set  of  rules 
24 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

for  the  settlement  of  all  social  questions.  He  may 
raise  the  whole  discussion  above  the  ordinary 
level  and  leave  the  pupil  to  decide  for  himself. 
Professor  Daggett  well  says,  "I  think  that  the 
boy  and  girl  [he  lives  in  California]  who  are  to 
pass  on  economic  questions  as  voters  should  be 
trained  in  economic  reasoning  by  disinterested 
teachers  before  they  are  called  upon  to  vote. .  .  . 
I  want  to  see  every  voter  accustomed  to  the  analy- 
sis of  economic  problems  and  to  the  criticism  of 
economic  argimaents  before  his  decisions  have  to 
coimt." 

The  too  scientific  treatment  of  the  subject 

It  is  probable  that  the  teaching  of  economics 
in  the  secondary  school  has  often  failed  on  accoimt 
of  the  too  scientific  treatment  of  the  subject.  It  is 
a  common  fault  of  college-trained  teachers  to  try 
to  teach  secondary-school  subjects  in  the  way 
in  which  their  own  professors  taught  the  subjects 
to  them.  This  is  less  likely  to  happen  in  studies 
which  the  teacher  himself  began  in  the  secondary 
school  than  in  studies  which  the  teacher  has  taken 
only  in  college.  Textbooks  not  adapted  to  the 
secondary-school  pupil  are  in  frequent  use  in 
classes  in  economics  and  it  is  surprising  that  such 
good  results  are  often  attained  with  these  books. 

25 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

The  teacher  should  be  sure  to  select  a  textbook 
which  is  not  too  hard  and  in  all  the  teaching  to 
remember  that  he  is  not  dealing  with  college 
students. 

The  objection  that  proper  textbooks  do  not  exist 

The  fact  that  economics  is  being  successfully 
taught  by  a  large  number  of  teachers  is  in  itself 
a  refutation  of  this  objection.  In  chapter  v  will 
be  found  a  discussion  of  several  textbooks  in 
actual  use. 

The  objection  that  the  curriculum  is  already 
overcrowded 

Again,  it  is  said  that  the  curriculum  is  already 
overcrowded.  Without  doubt  this  has  been  one 
of  the  chief  reasons  for  the  comparatively  slow 
progress  of  economics  in  gaining  a  place  in  the 
secondary  school.  This  raises  the  question  of  the 
relative  educational  value  of  the  different  sub- 
jects, a  question  which  cannot  be  discussed  here 
at  length.  If  economics  has  the  importance 
which  the  writer  has  tried  to  set  forth,  there  are 
few  subjects  which  ought  to  be  allowed  to  take 
precedence  of  it.  It  may  be  suggested  that  the 
time  allotment  of  some  subjects  could  be  cut  down 
and  others  could  be  made  optional  where  they 
26 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

are  now  required.  Many  pupils,  especially  in  the 
general  courses,  give  a  disproportionate  amount 
of  time  to  foreign  language  study  for  a  well- 
rounded  course.  In  many  schools  this  study  could 
be  diminished  with  advantage.  One  foreign  lan- 
guage is  all  that  a  pupil  who  is  not  fitting  for  a 
higher  institution  should  study.  Professor  Man- 
chester, of  the  Ilhnois  State  Normal  School, 
would  give  one  fourth  of  the  time  in  a  secondary- 
school  course  to  language  and  literature,  one 
fourth  to  science  and  mathematics,  one  fourth  to 
history,  civics,  commercial  geography,  and  eco- 
nomics, and  the  other  fourth  to  electives.  In  the 
best  commercial  schools  and  courses,  time  is  al- 
ready found  for  economics  as  a  required  study. 
Economics  is  commonly  and  properly  considered 
as  belonging  to  the  same  group  as  history  and 
civics.  At  the  present  time  economics  and  civics 
are  both  treated  as  the  poor  relatives  of  the  differ- 
ent blocks  of  history,  whereas,  by  reason  of  their 
importance,  they  ought  to  be  the  most  honored 
members  of  the  group.  The  whole  object  of  the 
teaching  in  this  group  of  studies  ought  to  be  prep- 
aration for  intelligent  citizenship.  History  it- 
self should  be  taught  to  show  how  the  present 
has  grown  out  of  the  past.  It  is  the  present  that 
is  important.  Commissioner  Snedden,  in  the 
27 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

article  already  mentioned,  questions  whether 
history  really  functions  socially.  It  certainly 
would  be  more  likely  to  do  so  if  taught  with  the 
conscious  aim  of  citizenship  and  the  course 
crowned  by  a  thorough  study  of  civics  and  eco- 
nomics. The  writer,  who  has  had  about  equal 
training  in  history  and  economics,  but  has  taught 
chiefly  history,  believes  a  good  course  in  either 
civics  or  economics  of  much  greater  practical 
social  value  than  a  course  in  any  one  of  the  his- 
torical fields  commonly  studied.  He  would  not 
omit  history,  but  he  would  unhesitatingly  dimin- 
ish its  amount  if  that  is  the  only  way  to  get  time 
for  civics  and  economics.  There  are  various  ways 
of  compressing  the  secondary -school  history 
course  into  three  years  and  at  the  same  time  cov- 
ering practically  the  entire  field.  Where  only  a 
small  amount  of  history  is  required  for  a  diploma, 
there  is  really  no  difficulty  about  finding  time  for 
civics  and  economics,  without  interfering  with 
the  necessary  history.  In  view  of  their  impor- 
tance, these  two  studies  should  together  be  given 
at  least  five  hours  per  week  for  a  year.  As  they 
both  deal  with  citizenship  and  overlap  in  many 
places,  they  should  be  closely  correlated  and  the 
best  method  of  securing  this  correlation  is  to  have 
them  both  taught  by  the  same  person,  naturally 
28 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

the  head  of  the  department  or  the  best  teacher  in 
the  department.  How  the  necessary  time  for  civ- 
ics and  economics  may  be  found  will  receive 
further  discussion  in  the  next  chapter. 

The  proposed  teaching  of  economics  through  some 
other  subject  or  subjects 

In  this  connection  may  properly  be  considered 
the  proposal,  favored  in  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ten,  that  economics  be  taught  through 
other  subjects.  They  recommend  that  the  essen- 
tial facts  of  economics  be  taught  in  coimection 
with  history,  civics,  and  commercial  geography, 
and  that  no  separate  course  in  economics  be  given. 
When  they  come  to  particulars,  however,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  subject  will  really  become  a  part 
of  the  course  in  American  history.  For  example, 
the  theory  of  value  is  to  come  with  the  study  of 
the  tariff;  in  connection  with  Jackson's  adminis- 
tration, crises,  banks,  money,  paper  currency,  and 
bimetallism  are  to  be  taken  up.  The  topics  thus 
enumerated  in  various  historical  connections  in- 
clude most  of  those  which  would  be  taken  up  in 
a  secondary-school  course.  A  trained  teacher  of 
economics  could  undoubtedly  do  the  work  in 
the  way  indicated  if  he  were  allowed  to  subor- 
dinate many  things  usually  taught  in  history  or 
29 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

to  have  about  twice  the  usual  time  allotment, 
but  it  is  pretty  sure  that  the  trained  economist 
would  prefer  to  teach  economics  by  itself  and  that 
the  inexperienced  teacher  would  get  far  inferior 
results  to  those  which  would  be  secured  with  the 
use  of  a  good  textbook.  As  Professor  Manches- 
ter, of  the  Illinois  State  Normal  School,  shows, 
experience  proves  that  when  economics  is  left  to 
be  taught  in  this  way  it  simply  is  not  taught.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  this  proposal  has  never  been 
carried  out.  Certainly  no  books  have  ever  been 
written  on  this  theory.  The  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Five  of  the  American  Political  Science 
Association  on  the  teaching  of  civics  in  the  sec- 
ondary school  is  significant  in  this  connection. 
They  take  up  the  question  of  the  teaching  of 
civics,  as  is  commonly  done,  in  connection  with 
American  history  and  devote  much  space  to  its 
discussion,  coming  to  the  imanimous  and  em- 
phatic conclusion  that  the  subject  should  be 
taught  as  a  separate  study.  If  civics  requires  a 
separate  course  to  secure  adequate  treatment  (as 
is  doubtless  true),  it  seems  evident  that  econom- 
ics requires  it  more. 

Closely  akin  to  the  proposal  to  teach  economics 
through  American  history  is  the  proposal  advo- 
cated by  Professor  F.  H.  Dixon,  set  forth  in  an 
30 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

article  in  the  School  Review  for  January,  1898,  to 
teach  economics  through  industrial  history.  He 
claims  that  the  use  of  a  textbook  on  economics 
has  proved  a  failure.  The  writer  of  this  paper 
believes  the  evidence  he  has  already  given  dis- 
proves this,  for  practically  all  of  those  who  an- 
swered his  questionnaire  based  their  work  upon  a 
textbook.  Professor  Dixon  says  that  a  textbook 
of  convenient  size  for  high-school  use  can  contain 
nothing  but  the  barest  statement  of  definitions 
and  principles,  and,  unless  life  is  infused  into  these 
principles  by  the  teacher,  the  work  is  without 
result.  He  also  thinks  that  the  pupil  fails  to  get  a 
due  idea  of  the  development  of  the  present  form 
of  economic  society.  Now,  textbooks  do  contain 
a  considerable  amount  of  illustrative  material 
and  the  good  teacher  will  supply  more.  If  the 
pupil  has  had  good  historical  courses  he  knows 
that  the  present  grows  out  of  the  past,  and  be- 
sides, he  can  understand  the  present  working  of 
most  economic  laws  without  reference  to  history. 
For  instance,  it  is  not  at  all  necessary  for  a  pupil 
to  wade  through  a  history  of  land  tenure  in  order 
to  understand  the  law  of  diminishing  returns  or 
the  law  of  rent.  Though  Professor  Dixon  believes 
that  the  secondary-school  pupil  cannot  learn  eco- 
nomics with  a  textbook  as  a  basis,  he  does  not 

31 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE  SCHOOL 

hesitate  to  recommend  a  great  deal  of  reading  in 
a  long  list  of  books  of  which  Gross's  Gild  Merchant 
and  Fowle's  Poor  Law  are  samples.  We  may 
safely,  it  seems,  dismiss  the  idea  that  a  pupil  can 
somehow  come  to  a  real  miderstanding  of  eco- 
nomic principles  by  taking  them  up  piecemeal  in 
connection  with  industrial  or  other  history  when 
he  is  unable  to  grasp  them  if  presented  with  a 
textbook  on  economics  as  a  basis. 


IV 


PLACE  OF   ECONOMICS  IN  THE  CURRICULUM 
AND  ITS  RELATION  TO  OTHER  SUBJECTS 

Economics  belongs  among  the  *' social  studies" 
with  history  and  civics 

In  what  has  just  been  said,  it  has  been  taken  for 
granted  that  economics  belongs  to  the  same  group 
or  department  of  studies  with  history  and  civics. 
The  only  other  department  which  would  have  any 
claim  on  it  would  be  the  commercial  department. 
But  the  aim  of  the  commercial  department  is 
primarily  vocational,  while  the  aim  of  the  de- 
partment of  history  and  social  science  should  be 
primarily  preparation  for  citizenship.  Teachers 
of  history  and  civics  are,  on  the  whole,  more  likely 
to  be  qualified  to  teach  the  subject  than  the  teach- 
ers of  commercial  branches.  They  are,  in  fact,  the 
only  teachers  in  the  secondary  school  who  are 
specifically  trained  to  think  in  terms  of  the  social 
organism.  The  replies  to  the  writer's  question- 
naire show  that  economics  is  taught  by  about 
twice  as  many  teachers  whose  chief  work  is  his- 
tory and  civics  as  by  those  whose  work  is  prin- 

33 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

cipally  in  commercial  subjects.  The  fact  that 
economics  is  almost  uniformly  classified  with 
history  and  civics  in  educational  books  and  official 
documents  renders  extended  argument  on  this 
matter  superfluous.  The  existing  committee  of 
the  National  Education  Association  on  the  Articu- 
lation of  High  School  and  College,  in  subdividing 
its  work  established  a  committee  on  "social 
studies"  which  include  civics,  economics,  and 
history.  To  the  writer  the  expression  "social 
studies"  seems  a  very  happy  one.  It  will  be  for- 
tunate if  the  nomenclature  becomes  general,  for 
it  will  focus  attention  upon  the  true  fimction  of 
the  department  which  has  hitherto  been  called  the 
history  department.  In  the  opening  sentence  of 
the  preliminary  report  upon  "Social  Studies" 
made  at  the  meeting  of  1913  are  these  significant 
words,  "It  is  probable  that  the  high-school 
teachers  of  the  social  studies  have  the  best  oppor- 
tunity ever  offered  to  any  social  group  to  improve 
the  citizenship  of  the  land." 

Economics,  with  civics,  should  he  a  required 
subject 

If  our  reasoning  up  to  this  point  has  been 
sound,  it  follows  that  civics  and  economics  should 
be  required  subjects  for  all  pupils  who  are  not 
34 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

definitely  fitting  for  higher  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, where  they  will  have  opportunity  later  to 
pursue  the  subject.  To  require  these  studies  is  in 
accord  with  the  best  modern  educational  theory 
which  favors  the  teaching,  not  of  those  subjects 
which  are  supposed  to  train  the  faculties,  but  of 
those  subjects  with  which  the  mature  mind  will 
have  to  deal.  At  present,  few  schools  require 
economics.  There  are  more  which  require  civics. 
Of  the  schools  replying  to  the  writer's  question- 
naire, about  one  third  require  the  subject  in  the 
commercial  course.  About  one  eighth  require  it 
in  one  or  more  courses  aside  from  the  commercial 
course.  In  Quincy  (Illinois),  Arvada  (Colorado), 
and  the  Central  Manual  Training  School  of  Phil- 
adelphia, it  is  required  of  all  pupils.  At  Dean 
Academy,  Franklin,  Massachusetts,  all  pupils, 
except  the  college  preparatory,  are  required  to 
take  the  same  subjects  in  the  senior  year,  about 
two  fifths  of  the  time  being  given  to  civics,  and 
three  fifths  to  economics.  The  two  subjects  con- 
stitute a  single  course  under  the  same  teacher. 
This  is  the  ideal  arrangement  unless  even  more 
time  can  be  given  to  these  very  important 
subjects. 


35 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

Girls  should  not  he  excused  from  studying  economics 

In  this  connection,  the  question  might  be 
raised  whether  the  "citizenship  course"  should 
be  required  of  girls  as  well  as  boys.  It  was  the 
experience  of  Professor  Clow,  in  his  classes  of 
normal-school  pupils,  that  the  young  women  did 
not  do  as  good  work  as  the  yoimg  men.  The  num- 
ber of  young  women  who  failed  to  pass  was,  how- 
ever, only  4.7  per  cent,  while  2.6  per  cent  of  the 
young  men  failed.  The  great  majority  of  the 
yoimg  women  had  creditable  records.  Most  girls 
in  the  last  years  of  their  secondary-school  course 
are  certainly  capable  of  profiting  by  the  study 
of  economics.  In  the  States  where  women  possess 
the  same  voting  privileges  with  men  there  would 
seem  to  be  no  foundation  whatever  for  making 
any  distinction.  Though  not  an  advocate  of 
woman  suffrage,  the  writer  would  favor  requiring 
economics  and  civics  of  girls  as  well  as  boys  in  all 
States.  The  influence  of  women  in  public  affairs 
is  constantly  increasing  and  woman  suffrage  may 
be  extended  to  other  States.  At  any  rate,  it  is 
important  that  woman's  influence,  whether  great 
or  small,  should  be  based  upon  knowledge  rather 
than  upon  ignorant  sentiment.  The  broadening 
influence  of  economics  is  especially  valuable  for 
36 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

girls,  as  it  takes  them  into  a  field  in  which  they 
would  otherwise  probably  not  become  interested. 
Women  as  a  class  are  brought  into  contact  less 
with  the  world  than  men  and  therefore  have  even 
more  need  to  study  economics.  Women,  too, 
have  a  great  influence  in  the  very  important  mat- 
ter of  expenditure.  The  training  of  American 
women  in  the  wise  and  harmonious  expenditure 
of  money  would  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  our 
nation.  The  charitable  work  of  the  community 
tends  to  fall  largely  into  the  hands  of  women  and 
without  the  power  to  think  clearly  on  social 
subjects  they  are  likely  to  do  more  harm  than 
good  in  many  cases  by  so-called  charitable  work. 

Economics  should  he  studied  in  the  last  year  of  the 
course 

It  is  desirable  that  the  subject  of  economics  be 
approached  with  considerable  maturity  of  mind. 
There  is  no  danger  that  the  secondary-school 
pupil  will  have  passed  the  plastic  stage.  It  is, 
therefore,  advisable  to  give  him  economics  in  the 
last  year  of  his  course.  In  seventy- three  per  cent 
of  the  schools  of  which  the  writer  has  information, 
the  study  comes  in  the  fourth  year;  in  fourteen 
per  cent,  in  the  third  year;  and  in  eleven  per 
cent,  in  either  the  third  or  fourth  year.  It  is  evi- 

37 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

dent  that  the  overwhehning  opinion  favors  the 
fourth  year. 

The  minimum  length  oj  the  course 

The  available  statistics  show  that  by  far  the 
commonest  time  allotment  is  a  daily  recitation 
for  one  half-year.  Some  schools  give  three  periods 
for  a  year  and  a  few  still  more.  It  seems  to  the 
writer  that  the  minimum  time  allotment  should 
be  five  periods  per  week  for  a  half-year.  One 
semester  is  a  short  time  allotment  in  compari- 
son to  the  importance  of  the  subject.  When  we 
compare  a  half-year  with  the  year  usually  given  to 
such  subjects  as  algebra  and  geometry  and  three 
or  four  years  given  to  a  language,  which  will,  in 
the  case  of  three  fourths  of  the  pupils  who  study 
it,  have  no  point  of  contact  with  their  life  after 
they  leave  school,  this  is  self-evident.  Twice  the 
time  would  produce  more  than  twice  the  results, 
but  one  semester  is  certainly  worth  having. 
Where  a  year  can  be  given  to  the  subject  civics 
should  come  in  the  third  year  or  run  parallel  with 
economics  in  the  fourth. 

The  relation  of  economics  to  civics 

Our  previous  discussion  has  brought  out  the 
fact  that  the  writer  considers  civics  as  next  in 

38 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

importance  to  economics  in  the  formation  of  in- 
telligence on  public  questions.  Civics  and  eco- 
nomics may  well  form  one  unit,  that  is,  a  five-hour 
course  for  a  year.  For  this  arrangement  we  have 
the  distinguished  support  of  the  Committee  on 
"Social  Studies"  of  the  National  Education  As- 
sociation to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made,  who  give  this  unit  the  title  "Economics 
and  Civic  Theory  and  Practice." 

The  relation  of  economics  to  history 

What  shall  we  do,  then,  with  the  four  famous 
blocks  of  history  of  the  Committee  of  Seven  of 
the  American  Historical  Association?  There  is 
one  very  simple  solution,  namely,  to  teach  only 
three  of  the  blocks  and  use  the  place  of  the  other 
for  civics  and  economics.  Ancient  history  might 
come  the  first  year,  mediaeval  and  modern,  the 
second  year,  and  American  history  the  third  year. 
In  this  case  the  English  part  of  the  European 
history  should  be  emphasized.  Another  way  is  to 
do  as  above  except  that  the  second-year  course 
might  consist  of  English  history  with  a  setting 
of  the  most  important  parts  of  Continental  his- 
tory. The  way  the  writer  would  personally  ad- 
vocate is  to  divide  European  history  into  two 
parts,  the  first  to  cover  both  ancient  and  mediaeval 

39 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

history  and  the  second  to  cover  modem  history, 
each  part  to  have  one  year.  In  this  way  recent 
European  history  receives  due  emphasis.  The  last 
two  years  of  the  course  are  then  left  for  American 
history  and  a  course  in  civics  and  economics. 
Textbooks  intended  to  cover  European  history 
in  two  years  are  already  appearing.  The  Commit- 
tee of  Five  of  the  American  Historical  Association 
significantly  say,  "We  are  .  .  ,  not  ready  to  assert 
that  the  course  of  the  world's  history  can  in  no 
case  be  covered  intelligently  and  effectively  in 
three  years."  Another  way  is  to  offer  all  of  the 
four  blocks  of  history  as  electives,  simply  pre- 
scribing that  a  minimum  amount  of  history  be  re- 
quired. If  a  pupil  has  time  for  it,  the  author  sees 
no  objection,  but  on  the  contrary  great  advan- 
tage, in  a  pupil's  pursuing  United  States  history 
at  the  same  time  that  he  is  taking  civics  and 
economics. 

The  Committee  of  Seven  and  the  Committee  of 
Five  of  the  American  Historical  Association  may 
be  justly  criticized  for  giving  no  attention  to  the 
need  of  finding  a  place  for  economics  in  connec- 
tion with  history  and  civics.  The  Committee  of 
the  National  Education  Association  on  Social 
Studies  have  not  made  this  mistake.  They  have 
proposed  the  following  five  units:  (i)  Community 
40 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

civics  and  survey  of  vocations;  (2)  European  his- 
tory to  1600  or  1700;  (3)  European  history  to  the 
present  time  (including  contemporary  civiliza- 
tion;) (4)  United  States  history  since  1760  (in- 
cluding current  events) ;  (5)  economics  and  civic 
theory  and  practice.  They  contemplate  a  scheme 
for  reducing  the  history  to  two  units,  where 
necessary,  but  how  this  is  to  be  done  is  an  open 
question.  Without  indorsing  all  the  details,  the 
writer  feels  that  this  committee's  ideas  as  to  the 
function  of  the  social  studies  and  the  content  of 
the  course  are  essentially  sound. 

In  the  teaching  of  history  the  economic  and 
civic  phases  should  be  emphasized.  History  fur- 
nishes many  illustrations  of  economics  laws. 
For  example,  the  Black  Death  can  be  used  to 
teach  the  pupil  about  wages  and  the  assignats 
of  the  French  Revolution  to  teach  him  about  in- 
flation. It  is  well  that  the  pupil  should  receive 
considerable  incidental  teaching  in  economics 
before  he  takes  up  its  systematic  study.  The 
teacher  ought  always  to  have  the  conscious  aim 
of  fitting  for  citizenship  and  in  particular  of 
preparing  the  pupil  for  the  systematic  study  of 
civics  and  economics.  Every  course  in  history, 
and  American  history  in  particular,  can  be  made 
to  minister  to  these  ends. 

41 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

The  relation  of  economics  to  subjects  other  than 
those  already  discussed 

In  general,  there  is  little  attempt  to  correlate 
other  subjects  with  economics.  In  commercial 
schools  and  the  commercial  departments  of  large 
schools,  it  is  usually  preceded  by  commercial 
geography,  commercial  law,  and  often  by  com- 
mercial or  industrial  history.  The  usual  content  of 
commercial  geography  is  probably  the  best  of  all 
preparations  for  the  study  of  economics.  If  the 
pupil  knows  the  principal  facts  of  commerce  and 
industry,  of  climate  and  the  geographical  factors 
affecting  production,  and  of  agriculture,  manu- 
facturing, and  transportation,  he  has  a  decided 
advantage  over  a  pupil  who  has  not  had  such  a 
course. 

Certain  parts  of  commercial  law  are  of  great 
value  as  a  preparation  for  the  profitable  study 
of  economics.  Commercial  and  industrial  history 
also  furnish  an  excellent  apperceptive  basis  for 
economics.  In  all  these  subjects  there  should  be 
a  definite  effort  to  prepare  the  pupil  for  the  later 
study  of  economics.  Bookkeeping  is  a  decided 
help  in  understanding  certain  phases  of  the  sub- 
ject of  corporations.  In  the  New  York  High 
School  of  Commerce  the  study  of  mathematics 
42 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

is  definitely  correlated  with  economics  through 
the  instruction  on  graphs. 

The  same  school  has  a  required  two-period 
course  for  the  first  haK-year  in  local  industries. 
It  is  designed  to  be  of  immediate  value  to  the  boys 
who  must  leave  school  early  in  the  course  to  go  to 
work  and  to  be  a  preparation  for  the  later  course 
in  economics.  It  is  so  managed  as  to  give  not 
only  much  descriptive  economics,  but  to  bring 
out  a  number  of  important  economic  principles. 
A  detailed  description  of  this  course  is  given  by 
A.  L.  Pugh  in  the  History  Teacher's  Magazine  for 
December,  1909. 

Economics  and  closely  related  subjects  in  the 
commercial  course 

So  far  we  have  not  specifically  discussed  the 
commercial  course.  In  actual  practice  it  is  in 
this  course  that  economics  is  most  frequently 
found.  Here  also  we  find  the  best  preparation 
in  the  earlier  years  for  the  study  of  economics  in 
later  years.  In  the  curriculum  for  High  Schools 
of  Commerce  reconmiended  by  the  Committee 
of  Nine,  Department  of  Business  Education  of 
the  National  Education  Association,  we  find  the 
following  arrangement  of  studies  which  have 
close  relations  with  economics:  — 

43 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 


First  Half 

Second  Hau 

First 

year 

General  history  to 
8oo  A.D., 

S  periods. 

Second 
year 

Commercial  products 
or  local  history 
and  industry, 
5  periods. 

Commercial  geography, 

5  periods. 
English  and  European 
history, 

5  periods. 

Third 
year 

United  States 
history, 

5  periods. 

Economics, 

4  periods. 
Commercial  law, 

4  periods. 

Fourth 
year 

History  of  commerce, 
5  periods. 

Civil  government, 
5  periods. 

This  is  an  excellent  arrangement  of  studies, 
which  provides  an  unusually  fine  training  for 
intelligent  citizenship.  It  would  be  better  if  the 
history  of  commerce  had  the  place  of  economics 
(including  the  time  allotment),  civics  the  place 
of  history  of  commerce,  and  economics  the  place 
of  civics.  The  makers  of  actual  commercial 
courses  have  usually  put  economics  in  the  fourth 
year.  This  is  where  the  study  comes  in  the  courses 
of  such  schools  as  the  Boston  High  School  of 
Commerce,  the  Los  Angeles  Polytechnic  High 

44 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

School,  and  the  New  York  High  School  of  Com- 
merce. 

The  proper  content  of  a  secondary-school  course  in 
economics 

A  very  important  question  is  what  should  be  the 
content  of  a  secondary-school  course  in  economics. 
This  depends  primarily  on  two  factors,  the  time 
allotment  and  the  purpose  of  the  course.  The 
purpose  of  the  course  is  to  make  the  pupil  inter- 
ested in  and  intelligent  about  the  economic  ques- 
tions which  will  confront  him  after  leaving  school. 
The  thing  to  be  striven  for  is  ability  to  observe 
economic  phenomena  and  to  think  accurately 
about  economic  questions,  to  appreciate  valid 
arguments  which  he  will  read,  or  hear,  and  to 
detect  invalid  arguments.  The  quality  of  the 
work  is  of  greater  importance  than  the  ground 
covered.  The  North  Dakota  Manual  for  High 
Schools  well  says,  ''The  larger  part  of  the  time 
should  be  devoted  to  a  mastery  of  underlying 
principles  which  are  now  accepted  as  axiomatic. 
.  .  .  The  greater  portion  of  the  work  on  the  course 
should  be  put  on:  Consumption  of  wealth,  pro- 
duction of  wealth,  definition,  factors;  exchange, 
money,  banking  and  credit,  international  trade, 
tariff;  distribution,  interest,  rent,  profit,  wages; 

45 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE  SCHOOL 

review  of  elementary  concepts,  wealth,  capital, 
value,  utility;  and  study  of  economic  problems, 
public  finance,  socialism."  The  New  York  sylla- 
bus goes  into  great  detail.  It  errs,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  writer,  in  being  too  extensive  for  a  time 
allotment  of  two  periods  per  week  for  a  year.  It 
contains  a  good  deal  of  material  about  New  York 
State  which  would  be  better  omitted  in  a  short 
course.  It  brings  in  such  problems  as  socialism, 
government  control  of  industry,  transportation, 
taxation,  etc.,  under  some  one  of  its  three  main 
divisions:  consumption,  production,  and  distribu- 
tion. It  would  seem  better  to  take  the  fundamen- 
tals first  and  then  give  such  time  as  is  available 
to  the  study  of  special  problems.  It  is,  however, 
a  careful  and  logical  piece  of  work  which  will 
repay  study  by  any  teacher  of  economics.  Chap- 
ter vn  of  this  monograph  contains  a  detailed 
discussion  of  the  question  of  the  proper  content 
of  the  secondary-school  course  in  economics. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  ECONOMICS 

The  work  should  he  based  upon  a  good  textbook 

Where  economics  is  given  as  a  separate  subject 
the  use  of  a  textbook  as  the  basis  of  the  work  ap- 
pears to  be  well-nigh  universal.  But  the  textbook 
in  economics  must  not  be  expected  to  teach  the 
subject  by  itself  any  more  than  a  text  in  physics 
or  geometry  would  be  expected  to  do  so.  Some 
of  the  textbooks  contain  a  preliminary  survey  of 
economic  history,  but  none  of  them  make  any 
particular  use  of  this  material  in  the  later  parts 
of  the  book.  There  is  some  value,  perhaps,  in 
this,  but,  if  the  time  is  short,  the  writer  would 
advise  entering  at  once  upon  economics  proper. 
The  best  textbook  available  should  be  selected 
and  all  work  should  center  aroimd  that  one  book. 
The  definitions  in  economics  are  very  important 
and  should  be  very  carefully  explained.  The 
teacher  should  take  great  pains  to  see  that  the 
pupils  fully  grasp  the  principal  economic  con- 
cepts.  Socialism,  monopolies,  and  trusts  cannot 

47 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

be  discussed  intelligently  unless  we  know  the 
ideas  for  which  they  stand.  One  cannot  follow 
the  argument  for  or  against  the  single  tax  unless 
he  has  thoroughly  grasped  the  concept  of  rent. 
Every  definition  and  law  must  be  abundantly 
illustrated  from  actual  life,  and  the  more  familiar 
and  simple  the  life,  the  better.  Illustrations  fur- 
nished by  the  pupils  and  from  the  life  with  which 
they  are  familiar  should  be  sought.  For  instance, 
the  law  of  normal  value  can  be  made  plain  by 
reference  to  the  articles  which  members  of  the 
class  are  in  the  habit  of  bu3dng.  The  pupil  must 
be  constantly  made  to  realize  that  the  subject  has 
to  do  with  the  actual  life  of  men.  When  an  ab- 
stract principle  is  stated  it  should  always  be  illus- 
trated by  something  within  the  knowledge  of  the 
pupils  in  the  class.  In  the  words  of  Professor  Clow, 
"If  John  cannot  grasp  the  proposition  that  a 
change  in  prices  causes  an  inverse  change  in  de- 
mand, he  will  see  the  point  quickly  when  asked 
what  effect  the  rise  and  fall  in  the  price  of  books, 
clothing,  or  railroad  travel  would  have  in  his 
demand  for  them." 

The  recitation  in  economics 

The  recitation  in  economics  should  conform  to 
what  is  generally  recognized  as  good  practice 
48 


[SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

in  other  subjects.^  A  few  suggestions  may,  how- 
ever, properly  be  made.  If  there  was  written 
work  at  the  preceding  recitation  it  may  be  briefly 
criticized.  Examples  of  good  work  and  of  poor 
work  may  be  read,  excellences  and  faults  being 
indicated.  The  writer  would  advise  brief  written 
exercises  at  frequent  intervals.  The  fact  that  a 
pupil  may  have  a  written  exercise  at  any  time  is 
a  great  help  in  securing  careful  preparation.  Writ- 
ing leads  to  accuracy  and  precision  of  thought. 
Definitions,  economic  laws,  and  answers  to  eco- 
nomic problems  are  excellent  things  to  have  writ- 
ten. Sometimes  the  question  or  questions  should 
be  on  the  lesson  of  the  preceding  day  and  some- 
times on  the  new  lesson,  or  sometimes  on  both. 
While  writing  is  very  valuable  it  should  not  oc- 
cupy a  very  large  part  of  any  ordinary  recitation 
period.  Five  minutes  will  usually  suffice  for  such 
written  work  as  the  writer  has  in  mind.  The  class 
should  always  be  quizzed  orally  to  discover 
gaps  in  knowledge  and  fill  them  in.  There  should 
be  great  freedom  for  pupils  to  ask  questions.  Dis- 
cussion, not  too  prolonged,  and  germane  to  the 
subject,  should  be  encouraged.  The  Socratic 
method  is  well  adapted  to  economics,  but  the 

^  See  the  Recitation,  by  G.  H.  Betts  (Riverside  Educational 
Monographs). 

49 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

teacher  must  exercise  vigilance  to  prevent  the 
waste  of  time.  The  pupil  should  be  encouraged 
to  challenge  the  opinion  of  the  author  and  the 
teacher,  provided  he  does  it  intelligently.  Pupils 
get  great  pleasure  from  the  discovery  of  the  errors 
of  others.  The  assignment  of  the  next  lesson 
should  be  done  with  deUberation.  In  making  it, 
the  teacher  should  point  out  the  difficulties  to  be 
encountered  and  give  sufl&cient  help  so  that  the 
pupil  can  surmount  them.  He  should  prepare 
himself  as  carefully  to  make  the  assignment  of 
the  next  lesson  as  to  conduct  the  recitation  on  the 
lesson  of  the  day  and  should  be  sure  to  reserve 
adequate  time  for  this  important  task. 

How  to  fix  concepts  and  principles  in  the  mind 

A  great  danger  in  economics  is  that  the  stu- 
dent will  readily  assent  to  the  statement  of  prin- 
ciples, which  in  many  cases  seem  self-evident,  but 
will  not  apply  the  principles  in  his  own  thinking. 
He  is  also  likely  to  fail  to  use  the  concepts  which 
he  has  acquired.  Problems  and  more  problems  is 
the  remedy  for  this  fault.  Every  problem  should 
be  strictly  relevant  to  the  matter  in  hand,  should, 
as  a  general  rule,  sharply  isolate  the  point  to  be 
made,  but  should  not  be  too  simple.  A  problem 
may  have  more  than  one  possible  answer  because 
50 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

it  may  be  that  good  authorities  differ.  Or  it  may 
have  different  answers  according  to  different 
conditions.  For  example,  the  question  might  be 
asked,  "What  is  the  incidence  of  a  tax  on  dwell- 
ing-houses?" Under  normal  circumstances  the 
answer  would  be  that  the  tax  falls  upon  the  ten- 
ant, but  this  would  not  necessarily  be  true  in 
a  community  which  is  diminishing  in  numbers. 
Economic  laws  of  the  greatest  significance  and 
true  in  general,  or  in  the  long  run,  often  do  not 
work  out  in  some  exceptional  case.  This  does  not 
disprove  their  general  validity,  but  the  pupil 
should  learn  that  there  are  exceptions  to  many 
economic  laws.  There  is  sometimes  a  chance  to 
use  arithmetical  problems  which  will  illustrate 
such  topics  as  the  law  of  rent  or  monopoly  price. 
There  may  well  be  a  few  problems  to  illustrate 
the  complexity  of  real  life.  Several  of  the  short 
textbooks  on  economics  contain  questions  and 
problems,  some  of  which  are  very  good.  A  book 
called  Outlines  of  Economics  developed  in  a  Series 
of  Problems  by  Members  of  the  Department  of 
Political  Economy  of  the  University  of  Chicago 
contains  many  problems  which  are  not  beyond 
the  ability  of  the  secondary-school  pupil  and  de- 
serves high  commendation. 
The  following  are  examples  of  good  problems : — 

51 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

1.  Is  a  share  of  stock  in  the  Cunard  Steamship 
Company  wealth  from  the  standpoint  of  eco- 
nomics? 

2.  A  newspaper  reports  that  King  Haakon  of  Nor- 
way made  this  statement,  "I  could  black  my 
own  boots  if  I  wished  to.  I  have  done  it  and 
therefore  know  how,  but  if  I  did,  what  would 
become  of  the  people  who  make  their  hving  by 
blacking  boots?  "  What  does  the  economist  say 
about  this? 

3.  Is  a  railroad  an  instrument  of  production,  of  ex- 
change, or  of  distribution,  in  the  economic  sense? 

4.  Why  does  any  farmer  cultivate  more  than  one 
acre  at  any  one  time  ? 

(University  of  Chicago  Outlines.) 

5.  If  the  supply  of  all  commodities  were  suddenly 
doubled,  would  any  change  in  their  relative  values 
ensue? 

6.  We  pay  one  himdred  and  ten  million  dollars  per 
annum  for  the  carrying  of  products  between  this 
and  foreign  countries.  Think  of  it!  One  hundred 
and  ten  million  dollars  in  gold  coin  has  gone  out 
of  the  commerce  of  this  country  into  the  com- 
merce of  other  coimtries.  Can  New  York  stand 
this?   (Speech  of  James  G.  Blaine  in  1881.) 

(a)  Is  it  likely  that  we  lost  one  hundred  and  ten 
million  dollars  in  gold  from  our  circulation  be- 
cause we  hired  foreigners  to  carry  our  goods? 

(b)  Is  it  likely  that  we  even  temporarily  parted 
with  that  much  gold  on  that  accoxmt? 

(c)  Is  it  likely  that  as  a  nation  we  should  have 

52 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

been  that  much  richer  if  we  had  done  this  carry- 
ing of  products  for  ourselves? 

(University  of  Michigan.) 

7.  A  Boston  daily  paper,  July  21,  1913,  contained 
the  following  squib,  anent  the  salary  of  Secre- 
tary of  State  Bryan:  "Still,  $12,000  a  year  is 
$12,000  and  not  $6,000,  as  it  would  have  been  if 
the  country  had  gone  on  the  silver  basis  in  '96." 
What  erroneous  impression  might  this  convey? 

8.  Examine  the  opinion  of  Locke  that  an  increased 
supply  of  gold  tends  to  lower  the  rate  of  interest. 

9.  What  would  be  the  effect  on  real  wages  of  a  great 
increase  in  the  abiUty  of  those  who  are  managing 
industries  of  all  kinds? 

10.  When  is  a  tax  on  carriages  and  horses  a  direct 
and  when  an  indirect  tax? 

Reviews  and  examinations 

Whenever  in  the  progress  of  the  course  a  matter 
arises  that  requires  knowledge  of  something  which 
has  been  previously  studied,  there  should  be  ques- 
tions to  make  sure  that  the  pupils  possess  the 
necessary  background.  Whenever  any  large 
topic  is  finished,  there  should  be  a  lesson  upon  the 
entire  topic.  There  should  also  be  a  general  re- 
view at  the  end  of  the  course  in  order  that  the 
pupil  may  get  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  entire 
subject.  To  a  large  extent  problems  should  be 
used  in  conducting  this  review.    They  will  tend 

53 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

to  bring  out  sharply  the  important  concepts  and 
principles.  They  will  also  be  more  interesting  than 
a  mere  repetition  of  the  ground  previously  cov- 
ered. In  planning  the  course  the  teacher  should 
allow  at  least  one  tenth  of  the  time  to  be  used  at 
the  end  for  purposes  of  general  review  and  ex- 
amination. The  final  examination  should  require 
the  pupil  to  apply  the  knowledge  which  he  has 
acquired.  Great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  have 
the  examinations  too  long.  There  should  be  time 
enough  to  allow  all  who  have  really  mastered 
the  subject  to  think  out  their  answers  carefully. 
No  pupil  should  be  regarded  as  having  done  first- 
class  work  who  cannot  write  an  excellent  paper 
at  the  end  of  the  course.  It  is  not  recommended, 
however,  that  failure  to  pass  the  final  examination 
should  in  itself  deprive  the  pupil  of  the  credit  for 
his  course. 

The  following  are  examples  of  the  sort  of  ques- 
tions which  pupils  should  be  able  to  answer  at 
the  close  of  the  course  in  economics:  — 

1.  Mention  a  business  undertaking  that  is  based 
upon  the  creation  of  (a)  time  value,  (b)  place 
value,  (c)  form  value.  Explain  in  each  case  how 
value  is  created.  (New  York  State  Educational 
Department.) 

2.  How  is  the  value  of  any  natural  agent  meas- 

54 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

ured?  (State  High  School  Board  of  North  Da- 
kota.) 

The  various  amounts  invested  on  four  different 
grades  of  land  yield  returns  as  follows:  — 


$5 

$10 

$15 

$20 

Grade  A 

40  bu. 

70  bu. 

90  bu. 

ICX3  bu. 

Grade  B 

30 

SO 

60 

Grade  C 

20 

30 

Grade  D 

10 

If  the  price  of  the  product  is  S.50  a  bushel,  what 
will  be  the  rental  value  of  each  grade  of  land? 
Explain  fully  the  theory  underl)dng  each  step  in 
your  calculation.   (Dartmouth  College.) 

4.  What  is  the  relation  between  the  market  price 
of  a  commodity  and  its  cost  of  production  (i) 
imder  conditions  of  competition;  (2)  under  con- 
ditions of  monopoly?  (Harvard  University, 
entrance  examination.) 

5.  State  and  explain  the  probable  effects  of  each  of 
four  of  the  following  on  the  cost  of  hving:  (a) 
tendency  of  population  toward  cities,  (b)  increase 
of  schooling,  (c)  increased  production  of  gold, 

(d)  multipUcation  of  banks  and  credit  exchanges, 

(e)  use  of  farm  machinery,  (/)  increase  of  trans- 
portation facilities.  (New  York  State  Education 
Department.) 

6.  Explain  four  of  the  following:  bimetallism; 
sterling  exchange;  central  reserve  city;  clearing 
house;  depreciated  paper  money.  (Harvard 
University,  entrance  examination.) 

7.  Show  that  in  most  cases  improvements  in  meth- 

55 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

ods  of  production  improve  the  lot  of  the  laborer 
and  increase  employment.  Illustrate  with  some 
article,  as  pins  or  typewriters.  (New  York  State 
Education  Department.) 

8.  Define  labor  union,  justify  the  existence  of  such 
an  organization  and  point  out  fe'o  abuses  into 
which  it  sometimes  falls.  (New  York  State 
Education  Department.) 

9.  Why  is  it  that  capital  commands  interest  when 
people  save  for  a  rainy  day  without  any  thought 
of  interest?  (High  School  of  Commerce,  New 
York.) 

10.  What  constitutes  just  taxation?  What  taxes  are 
being  substituted  for  general  property  taxes? 
(State  High  School  Board  of  North  Dakota.) 

11.  Tell  what  you  know  of  the  Sherman  anti- trust 
law  and  give  some  account  of  its  operation, 
noting  two  cases.  (New  York  State  Education 
Department.) 

12.  What  effect  would  socialism,  if  successful,  have 
on  production,  distribution,  exchange,  consump- 
tion? (State  High  School  Board  of  North  Da- 
kota.) 

13.  .Define  natural  monopoly.   Show  the  advantages 

and  the  disadvantages  resulting  from  govern- 
ment ownership  of  natural  monopolies.  (New 
York  State  Education  Department.) 

14.  Define  and  explain,  with  some  detail:  bank  re- 
serves, capital,  division  of  labor,  Gresham's  Law, 
Malthus's  Law,  marginal  utility,  normal  value, 
price  and  tax. 

56 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

The  notebook 

The  pupil  should  keep  a  notebook,  chiefly  for 
the  purpose  of  recording  supplementary  material 
given  by  the  teacher.  The  amount  of  material 
of  this  kind  will  naturally  be  rather  limited  in  a 
short  course.  It  will  consist  largely  of  such  facts 
as  are  necessary  to  bring  a  subject  up  to  date. 
For  example,  if  a  class  were  studying  the  chap- 
ter on  monopolies  in  Bullock's  Elements  of  Eco- 
nomics, where  there  is  a  brief  historical  sketch 
of  the  question  in  the  United  States,  it  would 
clearly  be  the  business  of  the  teacher  to  give  the 
class  essential  facts  in  reference  to  the  recent 
decisions  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
in  the  Oil  and  Tobacco  cases.  A  number  of  good 
teachers  have  the  pupils  make  an  outline  of  the 
text  as  they  proceed.  The  notebook  would  nat- 
urally contain  directions  for  work  given  by  the 
teacher;  outlines  of  collateral  reading,  and  other 
material.  The  notebook  should  never  be  an  end 
in  itself.  It  must  always  be  remembered  that  it 
is  a  means  only. 

Essays 

During  his  course,  each  pupil  should  write  at 
least  one  carefully  prepared  essay.  If  this  is  based 

57 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

on  reading,  there  should  be  a  bibliography  with 
accurate  citations  and  a  carefully  prepared  out- 
line. This  essay  may  be  on  some  economic  ques- 
tion or  may  be  descriptive  of  some  industry 
personally  investigated  from  the  economic  stand- 
point by  the  pupil.  The  latter  is  to  be  strongly 
recommended.  Ely  and  Wicker's  Elementary 
Principles  oj  Economics  contains  an  excellent  list 
of  subjects.  The  industries  and  natural  resources 
of  the  locality  will  suggest  many  subjects  to  the 
thoughtful  teacher.  The  pupil  himself  will  often 
suggest  a  subject  which  the  teacher  will  be  glad  to 
approve.  The  following  are  tj^ical  examples  of 
good  subjects:  (i)  Our  National  Ash  Heap;  (2) 
How  our  City  is  Fed;  (3)  Child  Labor;  (4)  Postal 
Savings  Banks. 

The  use  of  newspaper  clippings 

The  writer  of  this  monograph  has  made  a  good 
deal  of  use  of  short  newspaper  clippings,  which  are 
kept  in  a  book  separate  from  the  notebook.  The 
clippings  must  be  upon  an  economic  topic.  The 
selection  of  the  articles  is  in  itself  an  exercise 
in  discriminating  between  what  is  economic  and 
what  is  not.  This  part  of  the  work  is  not  started 
until  the  class  has  been  studying  the  subject 
several  weeks.    The  pupil  is  required  to  write  a 

58 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

brief  comment  on  each  clipping.  The  conmient 
may  consist  of  an  explanation  of  an  economic 
term  which  appears  in  the  article.  For  example, 
the  term  "preferred  stock"  furnishes  a  starting- 
point  for  a  brief  statement  about  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  corporation.  The  comment  may  consist 
of  the  explanation  of  an  economic  phenomenon 
like  the  price  of  sterling  exchange  on  a  certain 
day.  It  may  consist  of  the  reasons  for  approving 
or  disapproving  some  legislative  project  of  an 
economic  nature.  Especially  to  be  encouraged 
are  comments  which  point  out  economic  fallacies 
which  appear  in  print.  This  is  hard  for  a  pupil  to 
do,  though  such  fallacies  are  not  infrequent  even 
in  the  editorial  columns  of  metropolitan  journals. 

Other  collateral  reading 

A  large  part  of  the  schools  report  the  use  of  col- 
lateral reading  of  some  kind.  Some  schools  use 
several  textbooks,  having  the  pupils  pursue  the 
topical  method  of  study.  To  the  writer  of  this 
study,  it  seems  far  better  for  the  pupil  to  begin 
by  mastering  one  book,  but  other  texts  may  prof- 
itably be  used  to  obtain  information  which  does 
not  happen  to  be  contained  in  the  regular  text- 
book. Much  better  for  collateral  study  than  other 
books,  covering  essentially  the  same  ground  as 

59 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

the  text,  is  illustrative  material  like  bank  reports, 
political  platforms,  messages  of  the  President, 
the  Governor,  and  the  Mayor  (if  the  pupil  lives 
in  a  city).  The  writer  has  used  presidential  and 
gubernatorial  messages  in  some  of  his  classes  with 
much  satisfaction.  The  lesson  for  a  certain  day 
consisted  of  selecting  the  economic  proposals 
contained  in  not  too  large  a  part  of  the  message 
and  a  free  discussion  of  these  proposals.  Pupils 
were  held  responsible  for  the  principal  points 
brought  out  in  these  discussions.  Magazine  ar- 
ticles dealing  with  current  economic  problems 
may  be  assigned  to  individual  pupils  for  reading 
and  report.  Some  schools  require  the  review  of  an 
entire  book  of  considerable  size.  Other  schools 
have  a  report  on  current  economic  topics  at  stated 
intervals.  Outside  readings  which  illustrate  or 
prove  economic  principles  are  of  particular  value. 
Several  books  designed  for  collateral  reading  for 
college  classes  have  been  prepared.  These  contain 
selections  from  the  writings  of  economists  both 
past  and  present,  accounts  of  economic  occur- 
rences, selections  from  the  reports  of  various  com- 
missions and  government  departments,  and 
extracts  from  important  laws  having  an  eco- 
nomic bearing.  Parts  of  these  can  be  profitably 
used  by  secondary-school  pupils.  All  of  these  uses 
60 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

of  material  outside  the  text  are  good  if  rightly 
used.  The  essential  thing  to  be  obtained,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  mere  reading  by  the  pupil  of  cer- 
tain material,  but  some  sort  of  reaction  by  him 
on  the  material.  If,  for  instance,  current  topics 
are  used,  the  pupil  reporting  should  be  required 
to  show  the  significance  of  what  is  reported.  It 
is  desirable  that  the  school  library  be  well 
supplied  with  material  for  collateral  reading. 
Some  of  this  should  be  used  chiefly  by  the  teacher 
and  the  results  of  his  reading  interpreted  to  the 
pupils.  Other  parts,  which  should  be  carefully 
selected  by  the  teacher,  should  be  used  by  the  pu- 
pils. Teachers  can  gain  much  help  in  their  teach- 
ing by  becoming  familiar  with  the  methods  of 
presentation  used  in  other  elementary  texts  than 
those  in  the  hands  of  the  class.  In  another  part 
of  this  monograph  will  be  found  a  suggestive  list 
of  books,  and  other  material  for  supplementary 
uses.  The  writer  is  convinced,  however,  that  there 
is  no  better  kind  of  supplementary  work  than 
such  use  of  short  newspaper  clippings  as  has 
been  already  described. 

The  use  of  graphs  and  charts 

A  number  of  schools  have  pupils  make  graphs 
and  prepare  statistical  charts.    Where  there  is 
6i 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

time  enough,  this  is  an  excellent  thing  to  do. 
Some  textbooks,  especially  Laughlin's  Elements 
of  Political  Economy,  contain  charts  and  graphic 
illustrations  of  economic  facts  and  principles 
which  are  distinctly  helpful.  In  some  cases  it  is 
possible  by  means  of  a  single  diagram  to  make  in- 
telligible at  a  glance  what  would  otherwise  require 
a  more  or  less  elaborate  explanation.  The  teacher 
may  very  properly  draw  figures  on  the  board  for 
pupils  to  copy  in  their  notebooks.  But  only  those 
which  are  really  significant  and  which  the  pupils  are 
expected  to  be  able  to  reproduce  should  be  given. 

Debates  on  economic  subjects 

Debates  on  those  questions  where  there  are  two 
fairly  balanced  sides  are  excellent.  There  may  be 
some  debates  in  class,  but  it  is  better  still  if  the 
work  in  economics  can  be  closely  connected  with 
the  work  of  a  regularly  organized  debating  soci- 
ety. The  teacher  should  guide  the  preparation  of 
the  debate  and  should  always  point  out  after 
the  debate  any  economic  fallacies  which  have 
appeared  in  the  discussion. 

The  bulletin  board 

Another  device  which  is  largely  used  is  the 
bulletin  board.     On  this  are  posted  significant 
62 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

current  articles  from  the  newspapers,  the  price 
of  silver,  cotton,  and  other  staples,  the  quotations 
for  sterling  exchange,  the  current  rate  of  interest, 
bank  clearings,  etc. 

Observation  of  economic  institutions 

Visits  to  institutions  of  economic  interest  such 
as  business  establishments,  stock  exchanges,  im- 
migrant stations,  etc.,  are  used  in  several  schools. 
A  visit  to  a  public  market  is  an  excellent  thing 
when  price  is  being  studied.  The  physical  diffi- 
culty of  managing  them  and  their  time-consum- 
ing nature  are  hindrances  to  this  sort  of  work. 
It  is  well  to  do  as  much  of  it  as  circumstances 
permit.  Sometimes  a  whole  class  will  make  the 
visit  and  sometimes  a  pupil  alone  who  is  inves- 
tigating a  particular  topic.  In  either  case,  the 
teacher  should  point  out  what  to  look  for. 
Without  guidance  investigation  of  this  sort  will 
prove  of  little  value. 

Information  obtained  from  individuals 

Another  help  which  is  sometimes  used  is  talks 
by  persons  qualified  to  speak  on  some  economic 
problem.  This  is  an  excellent  way  to  arouse  in- 
terest. Pupils  should  be  encouraged  to  attend 
lectures  and  hear  speeches  in  which  economic 

63 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

topics  are  to  be  discussed  and  to  have  private 
interviews  with  capitalists,  laborers,  labor-union 
leaders,  and  public  officials.  A  danger  to  be 
guarded  against  is  that  such  talks  will  not  get 
at  the  vital  points.  Certain  fundamentals  may  be 
so  familiar  to  the  business  man  that  he  takes  for 
granted  that  the  pupil  knows  the  very  thing  he 
does  not  know  and  needs  to  be  told. 

Economics  and  vocational  guidance 

An  interesting  and  excellent  combination  is 
reported  from  Saginaw,  Michigan.  This  is  the  as- 
sociation of  economics  with  vocational  guidance. 
In  the  Boston  High  School  of  Commerce  the  head 
of  the  department  of  economics  is  director  of 
the  employment  bureau.  A  good  course  in  eco- 
nomics might  be  of  much  value  to  young  men  and 
women  by  assisting  in  the  choice  of  a  vocation. 
It  is  very  certain  that  a  knowledge  of  economics 
is  a  necessity  for  the  best  work  in  vocational 
guidance.  The  increased  prominence  which  voca- 
tional guidance  is  rightly  obtaining  ought  to  help 
to  a  wider  knowledge  of  economics  among  teach- 
ers, and  to  a  more  extensive  study  of  the  subject 
in  secondary  schools. 


64 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

The  danger  of  trying  to  do  too  much 

It  must  not  be  thought,  because  the  writer 
has  enumerated  and  discussed  so  many  ways  of 
doing  work  outside  the  regular  routine  of  text- 
book recitation,  that  he  is  oblivious  of  the  limi- 
tations of  time  and  strength  which  must  affect 
both  pupil  and  teacher.  The  wise  teacher  will 
select  those  methods  which  seem  best  adapted  to 
the  conditions  in  which  he  finds  himself,  which 
include  the  time  allotment,  the  size  of  the  class, 
the  ability  and  preparation  of  the  pupils,  and  the 
other  work  which  the  teacher  has  to  do.  Where 
only  one  semester  is  allowed  to  do  the  work,  the 
teacher  must  take  care  that  too  many  things,  each 
good  in  itself,  are  not  attempted,  for  there  is 
danger  that  the  main  purpose  of  the  course  may 
fail  to  be  attained. 

The  sort  of  textbook  needed 

The  question  of  textbooks  has  been  left  for  con- 
sideration at  the  end  of  this  chapter  in  order  that 
it  might  be  discussed  in  the  light  of  what  has 
previously  been  said.  The  secondary-school  text 
in  economics  should  treat  the  fundamentals  of 
the  subject  as  already  set  forth  in  not  over  ninety 

6S 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

thousand  words,  so  that  it  can  be  covered  in  one 
semester  and  some  time  remain  for  collateral 
work.  Besides  the  more  fundamental  parts,  the 
same  book  might  well  contain  chapters  on  the 
leading  economic  questions  of  the  day  for  the  use 
of  those  classes  which  have  time  for  them.  Ma- 
terial of  a  less  important  or  more  difficult  charac- 
ter than  the  fundamental  parts  should  be  printed 
in  different  type  and  so  arranged  that  it  may  be 
omitted  by  classes  whose  time  is  limited.  In  other 
words,  the  book  should  be  so  made  up  that  it  can 
be  conveniently  used  for  courses  of  somewhat 
differing  lengths.  The  language  should  be  simple 
and  clear.  Every  technical  word  should  be  clearly 
defined.  The  sections  should  be  nimibered  and 
each  one  should  have  a  well-worded  heading 
printed  in  heavy  type.  Definitions,  economic 
laws,  and  important  words  and  phrases  should  be 
printed  in  italics  or  otherwise  made  prominent. 
The  principles  set  forth  should  be  carefully  ex- 
plained and  abundantly  illustrated.  Numbering 
and  lettering  should  be  freely  used  to  bring  out 
the  relation  of  one  part  of  the  text  to  another. 
This  is  a  decided  help  to  the  pupil  toward  grasp- 
ing the  subject.  At  the  end  of  each  chapter  there 
should  be  a  good  set  of  questions  and  economic 
problems  such  as  have  been  described.  All  these 
66 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

excellences  have  appeared  in  different  texts,  but 
have  been  only  partly  combined  in  any  one  book. 

Some  of  the  books  which  are  in  use 

Several  textbooks  of  considerable  merit  have 
been  written  on  elementary  economics,  but  we  will 
simply  notice  briefly  the  five  books  which  now 
practically  occupy  the  field.  The  replies  to  the 
writer's  questionnaire  indicate  that  the  following 
books  were  the  only  ones  which  were  used  to 
any  considerable  extent:  Ely  and  Wicker's 
Elementary  Principles  of  Economics,  Bullock's 
Elements  of  Economics,  Bullock's  Introduction  to 
the  Study  of  Economics,  and  Laughlin's  Ele- 
ments of  Political  Economy.  The  last,  which  is  the 
oldest  of  the  above-mentioned  texts,  and  is  some- 
what old-fashioned,  is  now  the  least  used.  It  has 
exercises  at  the  end  of  each  chapter,  many  of  which 
are  excellent.  The  book  is  somewhat  too  volumi- 
nous for  a  half-year  course  in  the  subject,  but  is 
so  arranged  that  Part  i  makes  a  complete  course 
by  itself.  Professor  Bullock  is  an  excellent  econo- 
mist and  the  general  soundness  of  his  presentation 
of  the  subject  doubtless  accounts  for  the  wide  use 
of  his  two  books.  The  Elements  is  not,  however, 
well  arranged  for  teaching  purposes,  and  the  au- 
thor has  not  succeeded  very  well  in  making  its 
67 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

language  suitable  to  the  secondary-school  pupil. 
Some  of  the  descriptive  and  historical  material 
could  be  abbreviated  without  serious  loss.  The 
Introduction  is  an  excellent  college  book,  but  was 
never  intended  for  the  secondary  school.  Burch 
and  Nearing's  Elements  of  Economics  is  a  new 
book  issued  in  191 2.  It  has  already  met  with  a 
good  deal  of  favor.  Dr.  Burch,  one  of  the  authors, 
is  a  secondary-school  teacher  in  Philadelphia.  The 
book  is  of  reasonable  compass,  and  its  language 
is  usually  clear.  It  seems  to  the  writer  to  have  too 
much  purely  descriptive  material  and  to  omit 
some  topics  which  ought  to  be  treated  J^even  in 
an  elementary  book.  It  also  appears  not  to  rep- 
resent so  weU  as  Bullock's  Elements,  and  Ely 
and  Wicker,  the  general  consensus  of  economic 
thought.  The  Ely  and  Wicker  has  many  ex- 
cellent features.  It  is  of  reasonable  compass, 
impartial,  logically  arranged,  and  on  the  whole 
easily  imderstood.  Its  make-up  is  such  as  to 
assist  the  pupil  in  studying  it.  Important  words, 
phrases,  and  sentences  are  italicized.  It  has  a 
simamary  and  questions  at  the  end  of  each 
chapter.  Some  of  the  material  is  printed  in 
smaller  type  than  the  rest  to  indicate  its  lesser 
importance.  The  chapters  on  economic  history 
add  little  to  the  real  value  of  the  book,  but 
68 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

they  may  easily  be  omitted  in  a  short  course. 
The  secondary-school  teacher  of  economics  ought 
to  possess  a  copy  of  each  of  the  above-mentioned 
books.  They  all  contain  valuable  suggestions  for 
him.  It  would  certainly  be  desirable  also  that 
several  copies  of  each  should  be  available  for  the 
use  of  pupils. 

Our  conclusion  with  reference  to  textbooks 

In  chapter  in  reference  was  made  to  the  objec- 
tion that  there  are  not  suitable  textbooks  in 
economics  for  the  secondary  school.  No  one  of  the 
books  which  we  have  just  discussed  seems  to  the 
writer  exactly  ideal,  but  each  has  its  peculiar 
excellences  and  good  work  is  being  done  with 
every  one  of  them.  There  are  innumerable  books 
in  constant  use  on  other  subjects  which  are  cer- 
tainly no  better  adapted  to  their  purpose.  When 
due  allowance  for  faults  has  been  made,  we  still 
conclude  that  the  objection  to  the  study  of  eco- 
nomics in  the  secondary  school  based  on  the  want 
of  suitable  textbooks  is  untenable. 

A  textbook  for  the  inductive  method 

It  seems  proper  before  leaving  Jhe  subject  of 
textbooks  to  speak  of  Professor  H.  W.  Thurston's 
Economics  and  Industrial  History  for  Secondary 
69 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

Schools,  which  differs  widely  in  its  plan  from  other 
texts.  It  is  intended  as  a  guide  to  the  inductive 
study  of  the  subject.  The  pupil  begins  by  making 
a  list  of  all  the  occupations  by  which  people  of 
his  acquaintance  make  a  living.  Next  he  divides 
these  occupations  into  classes.  In  the  textbook 
similar  work  continues  through  twenty  lessons, 
having  twenty-nine  pages  of  questions  and  direc- 
tions as  a  guide;  then  follow  one  himdred  and 
forty-four  pages  of  economic  history;  and  last 
of  all,  eighty-seven  pages  given  to  an  elementary 
discussion  of  the  fundamental  economic  princi- 
ples. Even  in  the  last  part,  the  treatment  of  the 
subject  is  very  largely  by  questions,  to  which  the 
pupils  are  to  find  the  answers.  This  book  ap- 
pears to  exaggerate  a  good  feature  of  economic 
teaching,  namely,  observation  of  economic  phe- 
nomena. This  should  be  used  to  a  considerable 
extent,  —  to  as  large  an  extent  as  time  permits,  — 
but  the  pupil  cannot  "make  his  own  economics" 
any  more  than  he  could  make  his  own  physics. 
Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered  that  experi- 
ment by  the  pupil  is  impossible  in  economics.  It 
is  true  that  there  is  a  kind  of  experimentation  in 
economics  furnished  by  history  and  by  legislation, 
and  that  economic  hypotheses  like  other  scien- 
tific hypotheses  must  be  verified,  but  the  pupil 
70 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

cannot  do  this  in  the  laboratory  even  to  the 
limited  extent  to  which  he  can  do  it  in  the  phys- 
ical sciences.  The  verification  of  economic  laws 
usually  requires  very  wide  observation  both  as 
to  time  and  as  to  space.  Some  of  the  simplest 
economic  principles,  which  are  now  regarded  as 
axiomatic,  were  not  understood  by  such  a  great 
man  as  Turgot,  though  he  was  a  diligent  student 
of  economic  science.  In  economics  the  principles 
are  often  simple,  while  the  facts  are  very  com- 
plicated; for  example,  Gresham's  Law  and  the 
fact  that  international  trade  is  essentially  the 
exchange  of  commodities.  Then,  there  is  danger 
of  wasting  time  on  the  "investigation"  of  things 
the  pupils  already  know.  The  aggregate  experi- 
ence of  a  class  will  be  found  to  be  large  and  it  can 
constantly  be  drawn  upon  as  needed.  However, 
Professor  Thurston's  book  contains  much  that 
can  be  profitably  used  by  a  teacher  of  economics. 
Many  of  its  questions  are  very  good. 


VI 

THE  CONTENT  OF  THE  COURSE  IN  ECONOMICS 

A  suggestive  outline 

The  outline  which  is  here  given  is  for  a  course 
in  economics  for  five  periods  per  week  for  one 
semester.  It  is  believed  that  well  prepared  fourth- 
year  pupils  can  cover  it  all  and  that  there  will 
still  remain  some  time  for  the  introduction  of  work 
of  the  teacher's  own  selection  and  for  a  proper 
final  review  and  examination.  Doutbless  many 
teachers  will  find  that  there  are  omissions  of 
things  they  would  deem  more  important  than 
some  things  which  are  included.  The  outline  is 
intended  to  be  suggestive  to  the  teacher  who  has 
to  plan  a  course.  Such  a  teacher  will  naturally 
modify  it  somewhat  to  suit  his  own  views  and  to 
meet  his  own  problems. 

OUTLINE 

Part  I 
I.  Introduction. 

Economics  defined:  its  nature  as  a  social  study 
simply  explained;  its  content  briefly  indicated;  the 
nature  of  economic  laws  elucidated. 

72 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE  SCHOOL 

II.  Consumption. 

A.  Human  wants:  the  diversification  of  wants:  the 
creation  of  new  wants  and  its  relation  to  busi- 
ness. 

B .  Utility  and  goods :  definitions  of  utility  and  kinds 
of  utility;  goods  defined;  things  which  are  legal 
property  but  not  economic  goods,  e.g.,  a  cer- 
tificate of  stock  in  a  corporation;  the  law  of  di- 
minishing utility;  marginal  utility;  relation  of 
marginal  utility  to  cost. 

C.  Demand:  definition;  the  laws  of  demand;  the 
function  of  advertising;  Engel's  Law. 

D.  Wise  and  imwise  consumption;  final  and  pro- 
ductive consiunption  of  goods;  harmonious  ex- 
penditure of  resources;  saving;  luxurious  expen- 
diture; injurious  expenditure;  consideration  of 
family  budgets;  cooperative  consumption. 

in.  Production. 

A.  Definition,  explanation  and  illustration;  the  four 
factors  of  production,  nature,  labor,  capital  and 
management. 

B.  Nature:  the  word  land  as  an  economic  term;  the 
law  of  diminishing  retiuns;  causes  which  set 
back  the  point  of  diminishing  retiuns,  such  as 
improved  machines,  methods  and  varieties  of 
animals  and  plants;  the  filling  up  of  our  terri- 
tory as  an  element  in  the  increased  cost  of 
living. 

C.  Labor:  definition,  explanation,  and  illustration; 
conditions  on  which  efficiency  depends;  the  re- 
lation of  scientific  management  to  the  efficiency 
of  labor;  relation  of  population  to  land;  theMal- 
thusian  theory  and  present  conditions;  immigra- 
tion; division  of  occupations  with  illustrations; 

73 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

division  of  labor,  with  illustrations;  advantages 
and  disadvantages  of  the  division  of  labor. 

D.  Capital:  definition  and  illustration  by  concrete 
forms;  distinction  between  capital  and  non-capi- 
tal goods;  distinction  between  capital  and  per- 
sonal qualities;  circulating  and  fixed  capital  with 
concrete  illustrations;  the  creation  of  capital; 
free  and  specialized  capital,  with  concrete  illus- 
trations; how  capital  funds  are  converted  into 
capital  goods;  necessity  for  constant  replace- 
ment; advantages  and  disadvantages  of  large 
and  small  scale  production  respectively;  the  point 
beyond  which  large  scale  production  ceases  to 
have  superior  advantages. 

E.  Business  management: 

1.  The  nature  of  the  entrepreneur  fimction  ex- 
plained and  illustrated. 

2.  Forms  of  business  management: 

a.  The  single  entrepreneur,  who  takes  the 
personal  responsibility  and  risk  of  coordi- 
nating the  three  other  factors. 

b.  The  partnership  where  the  entrepreneur 
fimction  is  shared;  its  advantages  and 
disadvantages. 

c.  The  corporation,  where  the  entrepreneur 
fimction  is  diffused  and  delegated;  capital 
stock,  common  and  preferred  stock;  wa- 
tered stock  and  overcapitalization;  real 
nature  of  corporation  bonds  as  representing 
part  of  the  capital  invested;  proper  pro- 
portion between  stock  and  bonds;  hold- 
ing companies. 

d.  Cooperative  business  where  the  laborers 
are  partners  or  stockholders. 

74 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

e.  Government  industry,  where  the  whole 
people  are,  as  it  were,  stockholders  in  a 
corporation;  kinds  of  business  commonly 
so  conducted  in  our  own  and  other  coun- 
tries. 
3.  The  great  importance  to  society  of  good  busi- 
ness management. 
IV.    Exchange. 

A.  Definition,  explanation,  and  illustration;  the 
advantages  of  exchange. 

B.  Value:  definition  and  illustrations  of  value; 
demand  and  supply;  the  law  of  value  imder  con- 
ditions of  free  and  fair  competition;  market 
value;  normal  value  and  the  law  of  normal  value; 
influences  modifying  the  working  of  the  law,  Uke 
large  fixed  capitals  and  by-products;  different 
costs  of  different  portions  of  the  supply;  impor- 
tance of  marginal  cost;  the  law  of  monopoly 
value;  natural  and  legal  Umitations  on  the  power 
of  monopoUes  to  fix  prices. 

C.  Money: 

1.  Definition  of  money;  the  functions  of  money; 
qualities  desirable  in  the  money  material; 
coinage,  seignorage,  and  legal  tender. 

2.  The  value  of  money:  how  measured;  cost  of 
production  and  value  of  money;  the  effect  of 
credit  on  the  value  of  money  (with  such  ex- 
planation of  the  different  forms  of  credit  as 
is  necessary) ;  rapidity  of  circulation  and  the 
value  of  money;  the  law  of  value  as  apphed 
to  money;  Gresham's  Law;  the  evils  of  a  fall- 
ing and  of  a  rising  value  of  money,  contrac- 
tions and  inflation;  proposed  remedies  for 
these  evils;  the  recent  fall  in  the  value  of 

75 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

money,  its  cause  and  how  far  it  explains  the 
increased  cost  of  living. 

3.  Paper  money:  the  fiat  theory;  advantages  of 
paper  money;  paper  money  and  Gresham's 
Law;  the  great  dangers  of  paper  money; 
historical  examples. 

4.  Bimetallism:  the  bimetallic  theory;  inter- 
national bimetallism;  the  Latin  Union; 
international  conferences;  the  demonetiza- 
tion of  silver  by  the  leading  nations;  the  sil- 
ver question  in  the  United  States. 

5.  The  existing  monetary  laws  of  the  United 
States;  the  good  and  bad  in  them. 

6.  The  advantages  and  practicability  of  an  in- 
ternational monetary  xmit. 

D.  Banks  and  banking: 

1.  Banking  institutions  as  the  instnmientalities 
of  credit;  deposits;  discounts;  reserves;  the 
clearing-hovise. 

2.  Bank-notes;  the  profit  in  their  issue;  their 
value  in  giving  elasticity  to  the  currency  im- 
der  proper  legislation  such  as,  for  instance, 
the  Canadian  banking  law. 

3.  The  national  banks  and  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  on  banking;  excellences  and 
defects  of  our  system. 

4.  Banking  institutions  which  operate  xmder 
state  laws. 

5.  The  banking  laws  of  the  pupil's  own  State; 
their  excellences  and  defects. 

E.  International  trade: 

1.  Advantages  the  same  as  of  domestic  trade; 
governed  by  the  same  principles. 

2.  The  nature  of  international  trade:  proof  that 

76 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

it  is  barter;  the  automatic  movement  of 
money;  how  much  money  a  country  needs; 
bills  of  exchange  and  the  rate  of  exchange; 
the  balance  of  trade  and  the  fallacy  in  the 
expressions  "favorable"  and  "unfavorable" 
balance;  the  invisible  elements  in  the  inter- 
national trade  balance. 
3.  Restrictions  on  international  trade:  export 
and  import  duties;  the  wisdom  or  unwisdom 
of  forbidding  the  former,  as  the  United  States 
Constitution  does;  import  or  customs  duties; 
specific  and  ad  valorem  duties;  tariff  for  rev- 
enue and  tariff  for  protection;  the  general 
effect  of  a  protective  tariff  to  divert  capital 
and  labor  from  other  industries  into  indus- 
tries favored  by  law;  industries  which  cannot 
be  protected;  the  burden  of  protection;  the 
tariff  and  the  general  rate  of  wages;  protec- 
tion and  monopoly;  how  tariff  laws  are 
actually  framed;  economic  and  political  ar- 
gviments  for  a  protective  tariff;  the  present 
tariff  law  of  the  United  States  with  brief 
review  of  recent  tariff  history. 
Distribution. 

A.  Definition  and  illustration:  annual  product  and 
annual  income  limited  by  natural  resources, 
labor  power  and  capital;  bearing  of  this  fact 
on  "living  wage";  real  and  money  incomes; 
the  four  kinds  of  income. 

B.  Rent:  meaning  of  term  as  used  by  economists; 
distinction  between  rent  and  interest;  differences 
in  land  in  regard  to  quaUty  and  location;  the  gen- 
eral law  of  rent;  application  to  agricultural 
mining,  forest,  and  urban  land;  relation  of  rent 

77 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

to  the  value  of  the  land;  relation  of  rent  to  the 

value  of  the  product;  rent  and  the  law  of  dimin- 
ishing returns;  the  unearned  increment  and  rent 
as  an  unearned  income. 
Wages  and  the  labor  question. 

1.  Definition  of  wages;  distinction  between 
wages  and  profits. 

2.  The  law  of  supply  and  demand  as  deter- 
mining wages;  the  pecuUarities  of  labor  as 
a  commodity;  the  supply  of  labor  and  the 
standard  of  Uving;  wages  and  the  productiv- 
ity of  labor;  the  efficiency  of  the  worker  as 
tested  by  the  luiit  cost;  time  wages  and  piece 
wages;  high  wages  and  low  labor  cost;  the  im- 
portance of  capital  to  keep  up  the  demand  for 
labor;  money  wages  and  real  wages;  the  wages 
of  particiilar  classes  of  laborers;  why  the  wages 
of  women  are  less  than  those  of  men;  the 
proper  period  of  labor  and  the  question  of  the 
eight-hour  day;  the  employments  which  offer 
to  young  people  the  best  chances  of  good 
wages  in  the  long  run. 

3.  Labor  organizations:  need  for  and  advan- 
tages of  collective  bargaining;  the  two  types 
of  organization  as  typified  by  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor  and  Industrial  Workers 
of  the  World;  syndicalism;  strikes,  lockouts 
and  boycotts;  arbitration  and  conciliation; 
the  amended  Erdman  Act;  the  Canadian 
Disputes  Act;  compulsory  arbitration;  the 
good  and  bad  feat\u:es  in  the  policy  of  labor 
organizations. 

4.  The  laborer  and  his  product:  cooperation, 
its  advantages  and  the  reasons  for  its  limited 

78 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

success;  profit-sharing;  the  sUding  scale  of 
wages. 

5.  Labor  legislation;  the  regulation  of  conditions 
and  hours  of  labor;  of  the  labor  of  women  and 
children;  compulsory  insurance  of  employees; 
old-age  pensions. 

6.  The  relation  of  the  activities  of  labor  organi- 
zations and  of  labor  legislation  to  the  high 
cost  of  living. 

7.  The  labor  legislation  of  the  pupil's  own 
State. 

8.  Ways  of  raising  the  general  rate  of  wages: 
education,  general  and  technical;  higher 
moral  standards;  restriction  of  immigration; 
increase  of  labor  saving  machinery;  scientific 
management. 

D.  Interest: 

1.  Definition  of  interest;  not  to  be  thought  of 
as  a  pa3mient  for  money. 

2.  Reasons  why  interest  is  paid: 

a.  Productivity  of  capital. 

b.  Sacrifices  of  saving. 

c.  Greater  subjective  value  of  present  than 
of  future  goods. 

E.  Profits: 

I.  Definition  of  profits;  pure  profit  distinguished 
from  gross  profit;  distinguished  from  monop- 
oly gains;  the  no  profit  employer  and  why  he 
stays  in  business;  the  analogy  between  profit 
and  the  rent  of  land;  profit  not  an  unearned 
income;  the  effect  of  an  increase  in  ability 
of  managers  of  industry  on  profits,  wages 
and  prices. 


79 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

VI.  Public  Finance. 
A.  Sources  of  revenue. 
I.  Taxation. 

o.  Definition;  theories  as  to  justice  in  taxa- 
tion; measures  of  ability  or  "faculty"; 
taxes  as  proportional,  progressive  and 
regressive,  with  examples. 

b.  Customs  duties;  incidence  of  these  taxes; 
advantages  and  disadvantages  purely  as 
a  form  of  taxation  (see  p.  77  for  protec- 
tive tariffs). 

c.  Excises:  definition;  incidence;  advantages 
and  disadvantages. 

d.  Income  tax:  theoretical  arguments  for 
it;  its  practical  working  where  it  has  had 
a  fair  trial;  the  Sixteenth  Amendment  to 
the  Federal  Constitution  and  our  new 
income  tax. 

e.  General  property  tax:  incidence  when 
applied  to  various  kinds  of  property; 
methods  of  assessment;  unfair  valuations; 
boards  of  equalization;  the  working  of  the 
tax  when  applied  to  so  called  intangible 
property;  double  taxation. 

/.  Taxes  on  the  imeamed  increment  (see 

p.  84). 
g.  Corporation  taxes:  incidence;  advantages. 
h.  Inheritance  taxes:  kinds;  incidence, 
i.  Franchise  taxes:  incidenge. 
j.  Licenses:  incidence;  disadvantages  when 

used  simply  as  revenue  measure. 
k.  The  proper  distribution  of  the  various 

forms  of  taxation  among  the  Nation, 

States,  and  local  units  of  government. 

80 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL      ^ 

/.  The  tax  laws  of  the  pupil's  own  State; 
the  good  and  the  bad  in  the  system. 

2.  Borrowing:  when  justified;  dangerous  growth 
of  pubUc  debts;  the  advisability  of  the  speedy 
payment  of  public  debts, 

3.  Various  other  sources  of  revenue,  very 
briefly  treated. 

B.  Public  Expenditure: 

1.  Great  advantages  which  spring  from  wise 
public  expenditure. 

2.  The  waste  of  public  money;  the  imwisdom 
of  it;  its  causes  and  possible  remedies. 

3.  Great  increase  in  pubUc  expenditures;  rea- 
sons and  how  far  justified. 

Part  II 

The  Conservation  of  Natural  Resources. 

A.  Brief  consideration  of  natural  resources  of 
United  States;  how  these  resources  have  been 
wasted;  the  squandering  of  the  national  do- 
main; the  vast  importance  of  conservation,  or 
making  the  use  which  will  be  wisest  in  the  long 
run. 

B.  Conservation  of  resources  in  private  hands: 
diffusion  of  knowledge  of  necessity  for  and 
methods  of  soil  preservation,  irrigation,  drain- 
age, etc.;  national  and  state  laws  to  encourage 
private  owners  to  preserve  forests,  etc.;  taking 
private  lands  for  pubUc  reservations. 

C.  Conservation  of  pubUc  domain: 

I.  Extent  and  value  of  what  remains;  folly  of 
virtually  giving  away  any  part  of  it;  neces- 
sity of  using  it  for  good  of  all. 

81 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

2.  Agricultural  land  should  be  either  sold  for 
full  value  or  leased  for  long  terms. 

3.  Forests:  great  economic  importance  of  for- 
ests; necessity  of  keeping  them  as  public 
reservations. 

4.  Mining-land:  title  never  to  be  alienated; 
either  leased  for  fair  rental  under  conditions 
to  prevent  waste  or  worked  by  the  United 
States  Government  itself. 

5.  Water-power:  vast  importance  for  the  future; 
the  extent  of  national  jurisdiction  as  de- 
fined by  the  Supreme  Court;  national  power 
to  be  exercised  to  fullest  extent ;  rights  to  use 
water  power  should  be  granted  only  for  lim- 
ited periods,  for  adequate  rental  and  under 
conditions  which  will  insure  greatest  useful- 
ness for  all. 

6.  The  conservation  of  Kfe  and  health:  great 
economic  importance;  means  for  accomplish- 
ing it. 

II.  The  Problem  of  Monopolies. 

A.  Monopoly  defined  and  monopoUes  classified. 

B.  Legal  monopoUes. 

C.  Natural  monopolies:  definition,  explanation, 
and  illustration;  the  folly  of  attempting  to  main- 
tain competition  in  these  industries;  the  piracy 
of  franchises;  the  alternatives  of  strict  govern- 
mental regulation  or  public  ownership  and 
operation;  arguments  for  and  against  each 
policy. 

D.  The  trusts;  term  defined;  different  forms  of 
capitaUstic  monopoly;  growth  of  trusts  in  the 
United  States;  state  incorporation  of  monopo- 
lies; possession  of  the  advantages  which  go  with 

82 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

production  on  a  large  scale  (see  p.  74) ;  overcap- 
italization; relation  of  special  privileges  to  capi- 
talistic monopolies;  relation  of  the  tariflF  to 
trusts;  trust  prices  and  how  far  the  increased 
cost  of  living  is  due  to  trusts;  dangerous  polit- 
ical power  of  trusts;  remedies  for  the  evils  of 
trusts,  suggested  or  tried;  advisability  of  federal 
incorporation  of  great  corporations;  the  Sher- 
man Anti-Trust  Act;  the  Northern  Security, 
Standard  Oil  and  Tobacco  cases. 

III.  The  Railway  Problem  in  the  United  States. 
A  phase  of  the  general  problem  of  natural  monopo- 
lies; the  methods,  reasons  for,  advantages  of  and 
evils  of  railway  consohdation;  the  prime  importance 
of  freight  rates;  the  problem  of  fixing  rates;  the  evils 
of  discriminations  among  locahties,  shippers  and 
classes  of  goods;  attempts  at  regulation  by  States; 
two  types  of  state  commissions;  railway  regulation 
by  the  pupil's  own  State;  utter  inadequacy  of  state 
regulation;  the  original  Interstate  Commerce  Act; 
its  comparative  failure  through  judicial  interpreta- 
tion; the  laws  governing  interstate  commerce  as 
they  now  are;  recent  judicial  decisions;  recent  ac- 
tivities of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission; 
express  companies  and  express  rates;  the  advisa- 
bility of  permitting  pooling  under  national  super- 
vision; the  question  of  national  ownership  of  the 
railways. 

IV.  Socialism. 

A.  Definition  of  socialism;  its  four  elements;  dis- 
tinction between  socialism  and  communism  and 
anarchy;  basis  in  dissatisfaction  with  present 
distributive  process;  socialist  criticism  of  this 
process;  the  socialist  conception  of  value. 

83 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

B.  The  advantages  which  socialists  anticipate  from 
the  adoption  of  their  program. 

C.  The  weaknesses  of  sociaKsm. 

D.  Possible  improvements  in  the  present  distribu- 
tive process  without  abandoning  its  essential 
features. 

The  Single  Tax. 

Defined  and  explained;  Henry  George's  proposals 
and  claims;  rent  not  the  only  imeamed  income; 
on  whom  the  burden  ought  to  fall  if  the  single  tax 
is  adopted;  difficulties  of  applying  it  in  agricultural 
communities;  other  objections;  the  taxation  of  the 
imeamed  increment  in  England  and  German  cities; 
the  advisability  of  taxing  the  unearned  increment. 


Additional  work 

In  making  the  foregoing  outline  it  has  been 
assumed  that  the  pupil  will  write  an  original 
essay  and  do  some  of  the  kinds  of  work  mentioned 
in  chapter  v  in  addition  to  covering  the  topics. 
Where  there  is  sufficient  time  the  outline  may 
easily  be  expanded  by  giving  some  of  the  topics 
in  a  good  deal  of  detail  or  by  introducing  other 
topics  in  the  proper  connection.  If  the  course 
is  completed  before  the  time  is  all  used,  other 
topics  may  be  taken  up  at  that  time.  Such  books 
as  the  general  treatises  of  Hadley,  Seligman,  and 
Taussig  will  furnish  a  great  deal  of  material 
which  the  teacher  may  profitably  use.  The  fol- 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

lowing  short  list  of  topics,  from  which  selections 
might  be  made,  is  given  simply  by  way  of  sug- 
gestion: advertising,  commercial  crises,  income 
and  expenditures  of  the  National  Government, 
the  merchant  marine  and  the  proposal  for  sub- 
sidies, the  economic  function  of  the  middleman, 
postal  savings  banks,  good  roads,  reciprocity, 
speculation,  water  transportation.  The  course 
may  properly  be  extended  by  the  detailed  con- 
sideration of  some  subjects  from  the  historical 
point  of  view  as,  for  example,  the  monetary  or 
tariff  history  of  the  United  States.  Concrete 
studies,  like  the  study  of  the  resources  of  the  state 
or  region  where  the  pupils  live,  will  employ  the 
time  to  good  advantage  and  give  the  pupils  an 
opportunity  to  apply  what  they  have  learned 
earlier  in  the  course. 


VII 

BIBLIOGRAPHIES 

Elementary  hooks 

The  following  list  contains  the  names  of  some 
useful  elementary  books  on  economics.  They 
are  valuable  both  for  use  by  pupils  and  for  the 
suggestions  to  be  obtained  from  them  by  the 
secondary-school  teacher  of  economics. 

Blackmar,  F.  W.:  Economics  for  High  Schools,  pp. 
434,  Macmillan $1.20 

Bullock,  C.  J.:  Elements  of  Economics,  pp.  378, 
Silver i.oo 

Burch,  F.  R.  and  Nearing,  S.:  Elements  of  Eco- 
nomics, pp.  388,  Macmillan i.oo 

Davenport,  H.  J.:  OutUnes  of  Elementary  Econom- 
ics, pp.  280,  MacmUlan 80 

Ely,  R.  T.,  and  Wicker,  G.  R.:  Elementary  Prin- 
ciples of  Economics,  pp.  388,  Macmillan  .     .     .     I.oo 

Macvane,  S.  M.:  Working  Principles  of  Political 
Economy,  pp.  392,  Merrill 1.05 

Laughlin,  J.  L. :  Elements  of  PoUtical  Economy,  pp. 
386,  American  Book  Co 1.20 

Thurston,  H.  W.:  Economics  and  Industrial  His- 
tory for  Secondary  School,  pp.  300,  Scott.    .     .     i.oo 

86 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE  SCHOOL 

Some  useful  hooks  oj  a  more  advanced  character 

The  following  list  of  books  of  a  more  advanced 
character  should  be  familiar  to  the  teacher  and 
many  parts  of  them  can  be  advantageously  used 
by  pupils :  — 

Adams,  T.  S.  and  Sumner,  H.  L.:  Labor  Problems, 
PP'  579)  Macmillan $i.6o 

American  Academy  (Annals,  July,  19 13),  Cost  of 
Living,  pp.  301,  Am.  Acad.,  paper,  $1.00,  cloth    1.50 

Brooks,  J.  G.:  American  Syndicalism,  pp.  264, 
Macmillan 1.50 

Bullock,  C.  J.:  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Eco- 
nomics, pp.  581,  Silver 1.28 

Carver,  T.  N.:  Distribution  of  Wealth,  pp.  290, 
Macmillan 1.50 

Clark,  J.  B.:  Essentials  of  Economic  Theory,  pp. 
566,  Macmillan 2.00 

Clark,  J.  B.:  Social  Justice  without  Socialism, 
pp.  49,  Houghton 50 

Commons,  J.  R. :  Trade-Unionism  and  Labor  Prob- 
lems, pp.  678,  Ginn 2.00 

Davenport,  H.  J.:  Outlines  of  Economic  Theory, 
pp.  381,  Macmillan 2.00 

Ely,  R.  T. :  Outlines  of  Economics,  pp.  700,  Mac- 
millan       2.00 

Fetter,  R.  A.:  Principles  of  Economics,  pp.  610, 
Century  Co 2.00 

Fisher,  I. :  Elementary  Principles  of  Economics,  pp. 
521,  Macmillan 2.00 

Gide,  C:  Principles  of  Political  Economy,  pp.  592, 
Heath 2.00 

87 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE 

Hadley,  A.  T.:  Economics,  pp.  496,  Putnam     .    .  $2.50 

Jenks,  J.  W.:  The  Trust  Problem,  pp.  361,  Double- 
day     i.oo 

Johnson,  A.  S. :  Introduction  to  Economics,  pp.  404, 
Heath      . 1.50 

Johnson,  E.  R.:  American  Railway  Transporta- 
tion, pp.  434,  Appleton 1.50 

Plehn,  C.  C:  Public  Finance,  pp.  480,  Macmillan    1.75 

Seager,  H.  R.:  Introduction  to  Economics,  pp.  565, 
Holt 2.25 

Seager,  H.  R.:  Social  Insurance,  pp.  175,  Macmil- 
lan       1.00 

Sehgman,  E.  R.  A.:  Principles  of  Economics,  pp. 
710,  Longmans 2.50 

Skelton,  O.  D.:  Socialism,  pp.  329,  Houghton  .    .     1.50 

Smart,  W. :  Introduction  to  the  Theory  of  Value, 
pp.  88,  Macmillan 60 

Spargo,  J. :  Elements  of  Socialism,  pp.  257,  Macmil- 
lan       1.50 

Taussig,  F.  W.:  Principles  of  Economics,^  vol.  i, 
PP- 547;  vol.  n,  pp.  573,  Macmillan     ....    4.CX) 

Taussig,  F.  W. :  Tariff  History  of  the  United  States, 
pp.  422,  Putnam 1.50 

Taylor,  F.  W. :  Principles  of  Scientific  Management, 
pp.  144,  Harpers 1.50 

Van  Hise,  C.  R.:  Conservation  of  Natural  Re- 
soxurces,  pp.  413,  Macmillan 2.00 

Warne,  F.  J.:  The  Immigrant  Invasion,  pp.  336, 
Dodd 2.50 

*  This  is  the  best  general  work  on  the  subject  and  should  be  in  the  hands 
of  all  secondary -school  teachers  of  economics. 


SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

Supplementary  reference  material 

The  following  are  some  of  the  more  useful  ma- 
terials for  supplementary  use:  — 

The  American  Year-Book,  anniial,  pp.  about  900, 
Appleton $3.00 

Bullock,  C.  J.:  Selected  Readings  in  Economics, 
pp.  70s,  Ginji 2.25 

Chicago,  University  of:  Outlines  of  Economics  de- 
veloped in  a  Series  of  Problems,  pp.  160,  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago  Press i.oo 

Chicago,  University  of:  Materials  for  the  Study  of 
Elementary  Economics,  pp.  940,  University  of 
Chicago  Prefes 2.75 

Conmaissioner  of  Corporations,  Regular  and  Special 
Reports. 

Commissioner  of  Immigration,  Reports. 

Fetter,  R.  A.:  Source  Book  in  Economics,  pp.  385, 
Century  Co 1.30 

Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  Reports. 

Statesman's  Year-Book,  annvial,  pp.  about  1450, 
MacmiUan 3.00 

United  States,  Department  of  Commerce,  Reports. 

United  States,  Department  of  Labor,  Bulletins. 

United  States,  Department  of  Labor,  Reports. 

United  States,  Statistical  Abstract. 

United  States,  Treasury  Department,  Circulation 
Statement  (monthly). 

United  States,  Treasiury  Department,  Reports. 

World  Almanac,  pp.  about  800,  Press  Pub.  Co.    .      .25 


89 


ECONOMICS  IN  THE  SCHOOL 

A  few  books  and  articles  helpful  to  the  secondary- 
school  teacher  of  economics 

Bullock,  C.  J.:  Political  Economy  in  the  Secondary 
School,  Edtication,  ii:  539. 

Clow,  F.  R.:  Economics  as  a  School  Study,  American 
Economic  Association,  Economic  Sttidies,  vol.  m,  no.  i. 

Daggett,  S.:  Method  and  Scope  of  High  School  Econom- 
ics, History  Teacher's  Magazine,  3:  172. 

Ely,  R.  T.:  Economics  in  Secondary  Education,  Edtica- 
tional  Review,  20:  152. 

Ely,  R.  T.:  Methods  of  Teaching  PoUtical  Economy;  in 
G.  Stanley  Hall's  Methods  of  Teaching  History,  pp.  385, 
Heath,  $1.20. 

Gunton,  G.:  Economics  in  the  PubUc  Schools,  Proceed- 
ings of  National  Editcation  Association,  1901:  131. 

Manchester,  A.  L.:  The  High-School  Course  in  Econom- 
ics, Journal  of  Political  Economy,  19:  750. 

New  York,  State  of;  Syllabus  for  Secondary  Schools 
(1910). 

Spiers,  F.  W. :  Ideals  and  Methods  of  Economic  Teaching, 
Proceedings  of  National  Education  Association,  1901: 

137- 

Taussig,  F.  W.:  The  Problem  of  Secondary  Education 
as  regards  Training  for  Citizenship,  Educational  Re- 
view, 17:  431,. 

Taylor,  F.  M.:  Methods  of  Teaching  Elementary  Eco- 
nomics in  the  University  of  Michigan,  Journal  of 
Political  Economy,  17:  688. 

Wolfe,  A.  B.:  Aim  and  Content  of  a  College  Course  in 
Elementary  Economics,  Journal  of  Political  Econ- 
omy, 17:  673. 


90 


OUTLINE 

I.  THE  NEED  OF  ECONOMIC  KNOWLEDGE 

1.  What  the  science  of  economics  is i 

2.  The  value  of  economics  for  intelligent  citizen- 
ship in  the  twentieth  century 2 

3.  The  ethical  value  of  economics 7 

4.  The  vocational  value  of  economics 9 

5.  The  cultural  value  of  economics 10 

II.   THE  SUITABILITY  OF  ECONOMICS  AS  A 
SECONDARY  SCHOOL  SUBJECT 

1.  The  secondary  school  furnishes  the  last  chance 
to  teach  the  subject  to  any  considerable  nimaber 

of  young  people 11 

2.  The  opinions  of  educational  authorities    ...11 

3.  The  practice  of  leading  schools 13 

4.  The  evidence  of  those  who  are  teaching  the  sub- 
ject       14 

5.  The  evidence  of  examination  results     .    .    .    .  16 

6.  Economics  as  a  college  entrance  subject   ...  17 

7.  What  our  evidence  proves 18 

8.  Why  not  sociology  instead  of  economics  in  the 
secondary  schools? 18 

IIL  THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  ECONOMICS  IN 
THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

1.  The  extent  to  which  it  is  now  taught  ....    20 

2.  The  study  of  economics  in  the  secondary  schools 

is  increasing 21 

3.  The  belief  that  proper  teachers  cannot  be  had       23 

91 


OUTLINE 

4.  The  objection  that  economics  deals  with  contro- 
verted questions 24 

5.  The  too  scientific  treatment  of  the  subject    .    .    25 

6.  The  objection  that  proper  textbooks  do  not  exist     26 

7.  The  objection  that  the  curriculimi  is  already 
overcrowded 26 

8.  The  proposed  teaching  of  economics  through 
some  other  subject  or  subjects 29 

IV.  THE  PLACE  OF  ECONOMICS  IN  THE 
CURRICULUM  AND  ITS  RELATION  TO 
OTHER  SUBJECTS 

1.  Economics  belongs  among  the  "social  studies" 
with  history  and  civics 33 

2.  Economics,  with  civics,  should  be  a  required  sub- 
ject      34 

3.  Girls  should  not  be  excused  from  studying  eco- 
nomics      36 

4.  Economics  should  be  studied  in  the  last  year  of 
the  course 37 

5.  The  minimum  length  of  the  course 38 

6.  The  relation  of  economics  to  civics 38 

7.  The  relation  of  economics  to  history    ....    39 

8.  The  relation  of  economics  to  subjects  other  than 
those  already  discussed 42 

9.  Economics  and  closely  related  subjects  in  the 
commercial  course 43 

10.  The  proper  content  of  a  secondary  school  course 
in  economics 45 

V.  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  ECONOMICS 

1.  The  work  should  be  based  upon  a  good  textbook    47 

2.  The  recitation  in  economics 48 

92 


OUTLINE 


3.  How  to  fix  concepts  and  principles  in  the  mind 

4.  Reviews  and  examinations .    . 

5.  The  notebook 

6.  Essays 

7.  The  use  of  newspaper  clippings 

8.  Other  collateral  readiD,g      .    . 

9.  The  use  of  graphs  and  charts  . 

10.  Debates  on  economic  subjects 

11.  jThe  bulletin  board    .... 

12.  Observation  of  economic  institutions 

13.  Information  obtained  from  individuals 

14.  Economics  and  vocational  guidance 

15.  The  danger  of  trying  to  do  too  much 

16.  The  sort  of  textbook  needed  .     .     . 

17.  Some  of  the  books  which  are  in  use 

18.  Our  conclusion  with  reference  to  textbooks 

19.  A  textbook  for  the  inductive  method  .    . 


SO 
53 
57 
57 
58 
59 
61 
62 
62 
63 
63 
64 
6S 
65 
67 
69 
69 


VI.  THE  CONTENT  OF  THE  COURSE  IN 
ECONOMICS 

1.  A  suggestive  outline 72 

2.  Additional  work 84 

VII.  BIBLIOGRAPHIES 

1.  Elementary  books 86 

2.  Some  useful  books  of  a  more  advanced  character  87 

3.  Supplementary  reference  material 89 

4.  A  few  books  and  articles  helpful  to  the  secondary- 
school  teacher  of  economics 90 


RIVERSIDE  EDUCATIONAL 
MONOGRAPHS 

GENERAL  EDUCATIONAL  THEORY 

Dewey's  HOKAL  PRINCIPLES  IN  EDUCATION S6 

Eliot's  EDUCATION  FOR  EFFICIENCT SB 

Eliot's  TENDENCY  TO  TEE  OONCBETE  AND  PRACTICAL  IN  UOD- 

EKN  EDUCATION 36 

Emerson  '3  EDUCATION 30 

FiSKK's  THE  MEANING  OF  INFANCY 3B 

Hyde's  THE  TEACHER'S  PHILOSOPHY 35 

Palmer's  THE  IDEAL  TEACHER SS 

Prosser's  THE  TEACHER  AND  OLD  AGE 60 

Terman's  THE  TEACHER'S  HEALTH 60 

Thorndike's  INDIVIDUALITY 8S 

ADMINISTRATION  AND  SUPERVISION  OF  SCHOOLS 

Betts's  NEW  IDEALS  IN  RURAL  SCHOOLS 80 

Bloomfield's  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  OF  YOUTH 60 

Cabot's  VOLUNTEER  HELP  TO  THE  SCHOOLS 60 

Cole's  INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION  IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 35 

CuBBERLEY's  CHANGING  CONCEPTIONS  OF  EDUCATION 36 

Cubberley's  the  improvement  OF  RURAL  SCHOOLS 36 

Lewis's  DEMOCRACY'S  HIGH  SCHOOL 60 

Perry's  STATUS  OF  THE  TEACHER 36 

Snkdden's  THE  PROBLEM  OF  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION SB 

Trowbridge's  THE  HOME  SCHOOL 60 

Weeks's  THE  PEOPLE'S   SCHOOL 60 

METHODS  OF  TEACHING 

Bailey's  ART  EDUCATION 60 

Betts's  THE  RECITATION 60 

Caupaonac's  the  TEACHING  OF  COMPOSITION SB 

COOLEY'S  LANGUAGE  TEACHING  IN  THE  GRADES SB 

Dewey's  INTEREST  AND  EFFORT  IN  EDUCATION 60 

Earhart's  TEACHING  CHILDREN  TO  STUDY 60 

Evans's  TEACHING  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  MATHEMATICS 36 

Fairchild's  THE  TEACHING  OF  POETRY  IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Haliburton  and  Smith's  TEACHING  POETRY  IN  THE  GRADES 60 

Hartwell's  THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 36 

Ua YNBS's  ECONOMICS  IN  THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL 60 

Kilpatrick's  the  MONTESSORI  SYSTEM  EXAMINED 36 

Palmer's  ETHICAL  AND  MORAL  INSTRUCTION  IN  THE  SCHOOLS..    .36 

Palmer's  SELF-CULTIVATION  IN  ENGLISH 36 

SozzA  llo's  -raE  TEACHING  OF  PRIMARY  ARITHMETIC 60 

SUZZALLO'S  THE  TEACHING  OF  SPELLING 60 

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